Remember Me (Human Warrior Cats)
by StarcrossedIvy
Summary: The Crescent, one of the most dangerous weapons, is gone. And no one knows where. But some people have a hunch - and it could mean the deaths of a million people. Human Warrior Cats; with a twist! Rated T and an AU. Still being updated!
1. Prologue

**PROLOGUE**

The boy had just arrived back from a little, well you could call it, walk. His dark brown hair was sticking up in all directions and his icy blue eyes were watering from the ferocity of the bitter winds outside. Though he couldn't see through the heavy doors (as that was physically impossible), he could tell they were in there. He could here hushed murmurs and wondered vaguely what they talking about. It must have been important, because the Council didn't usually meet this early, or late. After all, it was nearly midnight.

After a couple of seconds considering what to do (go to bed or find out what they're up to), he decided to act on pride. He was, after all, practically royalty around here. He and his siblings, that is. Head held high, he flung the doors open and strode into the hall. Pairs of eyes landed on him, skeptical and furious. But he knew his brother was here; familiar amber eyes regarded him from further away.

Someone stood. Amber eyes glittered angrily and the man's arms were crossed. "What business do you have here, Hayden? This is a Council meeting and you are not of age."

Hayden kept his cool. He preferred staying neutral and not showing a hint of emotion. His voice when he spoke was calm and collected. "Travis, I do understand that my brother is here. Brendon, am I correct?"

Brendon stepped forward and bowed his head. "Brother, you are correct." He turned to Travis and spoke directly to the older man. "You have let me stay. Do the same for my brother."

"He is right." Another man hissed. His eyes were narrow slits, and he lurked in the shadows. "These are the sons of Tyson. You wish to mess with the almighty ruler, Tyson?"

"Of course not!" Travis snapped, eyes alight. "Not, shut up, Drake, before you hurt someone with your stupidity!"

"Is that anyway to speak?" A lady commented, twirling a strand of brown hair around her finger. "Can you imagine what your precious _Tyson_ would say about that? Manners, Travis."

"Mara, stop it." Travis warned. "I do not care for manners. Fine, Hayden. You may stay."

Hayden grinned. He always got his way one way or another. At least, this time, he didn't have to kill or torture someone to get it. Stepping forward, he leaned against the long table. "So what are we talking about,anyway?"

"It's a very big problem." Mara started, only to be cut off by Drake, who had travelled forward a few steps.

"A huge, huge problem." He paused. "For us _and_ for those goody-two-shoes."

"Shut up!" Travis chortled and sighed. "The Crescent is gone. I don't know if anyone had told you boys, but the Crescent is a very old weapon. We want it. We had it. But it's gone."

Mara barged in to speak again. "We suspect that _they_ have it."

"I heard you hid it somewhere. Well, my father did." Hayden narrowed his eyes. "It was hidden, right?"

"Yes." Travis grunted. "No one knew where it was, except us. Well, what it was."

"What was it?" Hayden questioned, interested.

Drake chuckled. "Not for _you_ to know!"

"Shut it!" Mara aimed a swipe at the man's head, but missed. "This is Tyson's son and he deserves to know! Travis?"

"It was enchanted by a Witch." Travis growled. "In a locket. A gold one. In a _freaking heart shape._ It's not hard to freaking lose, but we did! Heavily guarded as well! And we lost it! We're screwed, you know!"

Mara edged closer, threateningly. "We are _not_ screwed. Not yet!"

"Tyson will have our heads." Drake spat. "I never had anything to do with this! This is all your-"

He broke off as Travis snarled and threw a well-aimed punch at him. "I've told you all a million times! This must be sorted out as quickly as possible. Tyson need not know - and he will not."

"We're sending out patrols." Mara explained. "Members of the Council will try and find it. If we fail..."

"We're not going to." Travis clenched his hands in fists. "We head out tomorrow morning! Dawn, up and early. Got it?"

"Got it!" The Council echoed.

Thank you for reading! I really hope you enjoyed. I'm not going to turn into a nasty troll and beg you to R & R, but it'd be nice if you could. Now for those who are confused, this is a Human Warrior Cats, but with a twist. And way different from those Warrior Cat High's. If you would, could you also vote on the poll on my profile? You can choose what I write next. Thanks!

 _Characters Included So Far:_

Hayden Carter - Hawkfrost

Brendon Carter - Brambleclaw

Tyson Carter - Tigerstar

Travis Cleve - Thistleclaw

Mara Shade - Mapleshade

Drake Stravern - Darkstripe

Kisses,

Nat xxx


	2. Chapter 1 - The Hooded Figure

**CHAPTER ONE**

"You have got to be kidding." Dana shook her head, her halo of platinum blonde hair flinging to the side and lashing at her face. "This is a Night Club. We can't go in here! Think of all the bad things. They have drugs and they smoke and we could..."

"Oh my Stars," Ivy rolled her blue eyes. "Live a little, will you?"

Ben Stellar stepped forward, glancing between the sisters. "I have to agree with Dana. I mean, this isn't like you. You're smart and not the person to go, uh, in _there._ Seriously, you want to go in there?"

"Yeah." Finn Pevlone nodded. "I usually agree with nearly everything you say, but this is an exception. This isn't the Ivy I know. You don't _go_ into Night Clubs. Come on, it's a freaking Night Club!"

"I'm going in." Ivy announced and stepped forward.

"You can't!" Dana burst. "What will Mum and Dad say?"

"I don't really care." Ivy scorned.

"Stars, Ivy!" Dana's eyes widened. "I can't even..."

Finn blinked. "This isn't you, Ivy! Can you please think for a moment?"

"Well, maybe the me that _you_ know," Ivy's voice rose an octave, "Died in The Accident, eh? And-ow!"

Finn, before Ivy could finish her lecture, flung the girl over his shoulder, staggering forward. "Can you stop struggling, please? This'll be worse for both of us if you continue screeching in my frickin' ear!"

Dana fell into step beside Ben, who smiled.

"I never thought I'd see this." Ben mused, scratching his neck.

"Me neither." Dana breathed. "Are we still meeting at the fountain tomorrow?"

"Yeah." Ben grinned. "Of course."

* * *

"I can't believe this." Ivy groaned, focusing her glare on Finn's shirt.

"Well, you better believe it." Finn snapped. "Because this is happening!"

Ivy blinked angrily. "And I thought we were friends!"

"We were until you started acting crazy!" Finn sighed, calming down. "I'm sorry."

"Can you put me down?"

Finn regarded the idea. "You won't run off?"

"Fine, I promise." Ivy clapped a hand to her mouth. "You might want to hurry because you know that I suffer with motion sickness!"

Finn let Ivy slip to the ground and hugged his arms around his body. "Not on my favorite Tee, you don't!"

Ivy smirked, punching Finn playfully on the arm. "Don't you _ever_ do that again, alright?"

"Can't promise you anything there."

* * *

In the darkness, the alley way was even creepier. Which sucked, since it was the only way for them to get back to the street they lived on quick enough. Finn walked a bit ahead, his eyes narrowed against the night-time darkness. Dana shivered and edged closer to Ben, who smiled and shuffled so that their shoulders were pressed together. Meanwhile, Ivy was in the lead, taking in every stone and crack in the walls.

 _Just as long as we're together, nothing bad will happen._ Dana repeated over and over, pressing closer to Ben. Did she have her phone? Oh Stars! Oh. She had it. Good. That was great.

And then a hooded figure appeared. Dana could tell that it was a male from the lurching step and the body features, though she couldn't see his face. Her breath caught in her throat - would something happen? What if he hurt Ivy? Finn, noticing the guy, quickened his pace so that he was a good distance away, if anything should happen.

Ivy was the only one who witnessed what happened next. The slight impact of shoulder bumping shoulder, caused a flurry of blurred images to fly before Ivy's eyes. She froze and waited until they disappeared. Finn was at her side, but she was following the guy - or boy's - retreating figure. What in the name of the Stars had just happened?

"What happened?" Finn hissed. "Did he hurt you?"

"No." Ivy somehow found herself lying to her best friend. "I'm fine, really."

In a clatter of footsteps, Dana and Ben rushed towards them. Dana flung her arms around Ivy, "Are you alright? Should I call the Police?"

"Yeah." Ivy whispered.

"Come on." Ben glanced behind him. "I think that we should go before something else happens."

"Good idea." Finn agreed.

They all fell into places. Ben was behind and kept glancing over his shoulder just in case. Finn took the lead, his eyes mere slits against the night. Dana and Ivy were in between the boys, walking step for step, with the same short strides.

Dana looked over at Ivy and noticed her worried expression; eyebrows drawn in and eyes dark with an unreadable emotion. With a frown, Dana nudged her sister. "Are you okay? Please don't lie to me."

"I won't." Ivy said in a flat, emotionless tone. "Nothing. Nothing at all happened."

* * *

I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! I have spent ages trying to stop the annoying source code from showing *sigh*. Anyway, please R&R for quicker updates! I'm really enjoying writing this so far, and I know that it's quite slow at the moment, but it'll get better. It's all part of building the plot up, and for ya'll to get to know the characters a bit better.

Characters In This Chapter:

Ben Stellar ~ Bumblestripe

Finn Pevlone ~ Foxleap

Dana Falleh ~ Dovewing

Ivelynn 'Ivy' Falleh ~ Ivypool

Thanks so much and kisses,

Nat xx


	3. Chapter 2 - Ordinarily

**CHAPTER TWO**

The sun shone bright, slowly rising in the bright blue sky. Waiting outside of the small building they knew as home, Dana and Ivy gripped their school bags. Though Ivy was looking forward to seeing everyone again, she didn't like the prospect of stress and sister-problems. Dana, however, was thrilled to be starting a new year at Borderline Secondary. All in all, there were mixed feelings at starting their fourth year at the school. In less than a few minutes, the bus was rolling lazily towards them, bringing a variation of teenagers with it.

Her heart in her throat, Ivy clambered into the bus. Almost at once she was called to the back by Finn, who waited with a mischievous grin on his face. She knew that look and forced a smile. "More pranks this year, I guess?" Ivy murmured as she settled in between Finn and the boy she knew to be Lionel Carter. Lionel looked to the side and smiled politely - he was a year above her.

Seated with them was Dana, two other girls, Ben and another boy. The boy, Ivy knew him as soon as she set her cobalt eyes on him. He was Tyler Clavern, son of Talia and Rowan Clavern. Ivy inwardly winced. There had been several times the year before when she'd gotten into arguments with him over her sister. She hated the way that he seemed to be using Dana.

One of the girls, with smoky brown hair, spoke up. "Are you guys excited for the new year? I know that I am." She paused, taking in a couple of puzzled faces. "My name's Cinder. Sorry for not introducing you new kids sooner."

"We're not new." Finn rolled his eyes. "I know you. It's only Ivy and Dana that don't."

The other girl had mouse brown hair pulled into a high ponytail, and violet-blue eyes. Her lips, painted a pale pink, were pressed together into a straight line, eyes narrowed slightly. "I've never heard of a Dana or Ivy."

"Don't be so rude!" Cinder's eyes widened. "Maybe they're just not into the whole family-history thing as much as you are! Gosh, give the girls a break!"

"Well, sorry, High-and-Mighty Cinder!" The girl sneered. "Are you suddenly the boss of me? 'Cause as far as I know, I still control my body, my mind and my freaking motives!"

Lionel frowned and looked between Cinder and the girl. "Don't start fighting, please. Heather, cool it. Cinder, you're going to fall over if you keep standing. Sorry, Dana and Ivy."

"It's fine." They both said at the same time and flashed each other smiles.

The bus began to slow and finally stopped. Ivy wildly looked out of the window. They were here already! They stood and filed off the bus, chatter filling the air like wildfire. Finn slowly looked around from his place beside Ivy. "Well." He threw his hands up and into the air. "Welcome to the new school year, I guess."

* * *

Jace Carter was blind. Not only-slightly blind. No, proper blind, as in, can't-see-a-dang-thing blind. And it sucked. A lot. But like most people that are born blind, he managed to live with it. The only (one of the only) things that he found troublesome was school. Of course, he couldn't participate in most subjects, so he was in a special class, lead by his Aunt Leah. It wasn't the greatest thing, but he survived. He always did.

Except, this morning, was one of the worst. Lionel was up and heading out to the bus, but Jace and Holly stayed back. Well, it used to be him and Holly. Holly had always refused to go on the bus, preferring to help Jace. She had been a straight-A student. Had, she had. Just months before, a few weeks after the Falleh Accident, Holly had run away. She hadn't been found since.

Hence the reason that Jace found mornings so stressful. Holly had always been the one to wake him and guide him down the stairs (which he was having much difficulty with now), but now that she was gone, he had to rely on his parents to help him. But it wasn't that easy. Brendon Carter, their father, always seemed to be busy. He worked full-time at the Police station and occasionally gave speeches in the local school. Meanwhile, Scarlet Heavern, their mother, worked full-time at the school.

That morning proved to be one of his worst mornings. Brendon had scrambled to work, late, and Scarlet was supposed to be at the school ten minutes before. They were running incredibly late. And if that wasn't bad enough, Jace had lost his camera. It was private and personal. And very, very precious to him. It had disappeared - just like that.

He used it to record his voice, a vocal diary, since he couldn't write. Now that it was gone, all of the recordings he had produced since his thirteenth birthday were gone. Disappeared. And he had to venture through a full school day without being able to know that it was safe in his Dream Box.

Lost. That was what it was.

* * *

 _ **Thanks so much for reading! I really hoped you enjoyed this latest chapter. If you did, please R &R for quick updates and to urge me to write more! Constructive criticism is always welcome over here.**_

 _ **Characters in this Chapter:**_

 _ **Dana Falleh ~ Dovewing**_

 _ **Ivelynn 'Ivy' Falleh ~ Ivypool**_

 _ **Finn Pevlone ~ Foxleap**_

 _ **Tyler Clavern ~ Tigerheart**_

 _ **Cinder Florence ~ Cinderheart**_

 _ **Lionel Carter ~ Lionblaze**_

 _ **Holly Carter ~ Hollyleaf**_

 _ **Jace Carter ~ Jayfeather**_

 _ **Brendon Carter ~ Brambleclaw**_

 _ **Scarlet Heavern ~ Squirrelflight**_

 _ **Heather Taylor ~ Heathertail**_

 _ **Wow, that's a lot of characters mentioned and included in this chapter. Gee. Anyway, I've got a question to ask. What pairings do you guys want? I'm not going to spoil what I am or aren't going to include, but I'd like to know what you guys like. Yeah.**_

 _ **(Ps. Jace/Jayfeather's camera will be important for future chapters. Keep it in your noggins)**_

 _ **Thanks and kisses,**_

 _ **Natty xxx**_


	4. Chapter 3 - No Need To Apologize

**CHAPTER THREE**

"What class do you have first?" Dana questioned from her place beside Ben. Her platinum blonde hair was pulled up into a classy bun and her ocean-blue eyes were alight.

Ben groaned. "I have Mathematics, but I don't know who'll be teaching. Probably Mr Stellar or Mrs Heavern."

"What's so wrong about them?"

"Having your Dad teach you isn't exactly ideal." Ben pointed out.

Dana shrugged. "Good point. I have English Literature with Mr Clavern."

"He isn't too bad." Ben tilted his head thoughtfully as they trotted up the marble steps that lead into the school building. "He's sometimes strict but not nearly as bad as Miss Cloud..."

"Shush!" Dana hissed. "You know that she practically has ears everywhere!"

As they rounded a corner and headed for their lockers, Ben made a face. "Just look at all these posters for the Family Legacy Day! Stars, you'd think it actually made up our grades.."

"You are going, right?" Dana raised a perfect eyebrow. "There's going to be an after-party for us..."

"That makes it sound slightly more bearable." Ben smiled. "I have to go, anyway. You know what Mum's like."

Dana flashed him sympathetic eyes. "Yeah, I've heard about it.."

They slowed as Ben's sister, Blossom, came into sight, pushing things into her locker. "You going to this dance whatsit?" Ben asked.

Blossom whirled around to face them. "It's not like I have a choice, is it? Oh, wait, will Mum even care? Too busy looking after poor, little, defenseless Briar..." And with that said, Blossom whipped around and stormed away.

Ben gulped and glanced warily at Dana. "Her jealousy can overwhelm her sometimes. Makes her say things that she doesn't really mean. It's not Briar or Blossom, nor Mum's, fault-" He breathed.

"I understand." Dana said softly as she pulled open her locker. "The best thing is to giver her space and a bit of time. She'll calm down eventually, even if it takes a while."

"Thank you." Ben grinned. "I'll keep that in mind. Right, shall we head to the Common Room?"

* * *

"I'm really sorry about the way I acted last night." Ivy apologized. "I'm just not thinking these days. Ever since The Accident-"

"Please stop talking about it." Finn slammed the door of his locker shut and winced. "You know I hate it."

Ivy shrugged and smiled weakly. "It's good to know that someone cares."

"What? Of course we care!" Finn leaned against his locker. "You nearly gave me and the boys heart-attacks!"

"Sorry." Ivy blinked. "Shall we go to the Common Room or not?"

* * *

The Common Room was large and decorated accordingly. Couches and tables were arranged as well as secret places that you could hide in. During winter, the Common Room would grow packed and hot chocolate would be passed around. But now, because it was late summer, some students waited outside and the Common Room wasn't as full.

Ivy and Finn drifted into the Common Room, immediately searching for someone that they knew. At the same time, Finn and Ivy both spotted Dana. They hurried over and slipped into a couple of seats at the wooden table.

Letting her gaze scan the crowd, Ivy soon spotted a lone boy. That alone wasn't what made her shiver. It was the predatory gleam in his eyes, the way he seemed to be analyzing each person in the room. Ivy didn't flinch when his gaze ended up on her. She just started back until the boy looked away.

"Who's that boy?" Ivy nodded to the boy with messy black hair.

Finn narrowed his eyes and leaned over. "Brent Ferguson. Class A jerk. First Class bully."

A second later, Lionel appeared, trailer by Jace Carter and Heather. He took a seat and calmly helped Jace into one. "Just to warn you, Brent is looking this way."

"Got it." Jace scowled and crossed his arms.

In all honesty, Ivy didn't know what to think about Jace. He was peculiar, with his silver hair and eyes of the palest blue. And, not to mention, the fact that he was blind, but somehow managed to still see you. It made her shiver whenever he turned his sightless gaze on her.

"May I ask, what's up with this Brent dude?" Dana questioned, receiving a withering look from Lionel.

"We think that his life's mission," Lionel explained, "Is to torment my brother and I."

Dana frowned. "Well, if it makes it any better, I hope that someone kicks his ass."

"I'd happily do the honor." Ivy smirked. She could. She should. She did want to and she will. She had no idea why, but she didn't like this boy already. She hated Brent Ferguson.

* * *

 ** _Thanks so much for reading! I really hoped you enjoyed it. I'm not going to bother with Character's included in this chapter, because I am pretty sure that you can guess at who they all are already (Ps. Brent is Breezepelt.)_**

 ** _Please R &R. I always love reviews, as they really inspire me to write. _**

**_I just, also, want to say that this is still, practically, the introduction, if you'd call it that. I'm just trying to develop the characters and drop hints of important things that come up later in the story._**

 ** _And if you want to see more of a particular character, I would happily write about them. I could do a chapter for the Carter's or even the Ferguson's. Just leave a review (same goes for any pairings)._**

 ** _Thanks so much and kisses,_**

 ** _Nat xxx_**


	5. Chapter 4 - Blindly Follow

CHAPTER FOUR

"I hate being blind."

"You're so annoying."

Lionel and Jace Carter burst into laughter, steadying themselves against the tray rack of the cafeteria. Other students turned and stared at them, some huffing about their immaturity. For once, Jace had managed to sneak away from his Aunt Leah, who had been buzzing around him for the past two years. Once they had recovered from their laughing fit, Lionel and Jace found their way to a table, where several of their friends were seated.

Heather Taylor glanced upwards and smiled confidently, patting the seat beside her. With a thank you, Lionel slumped into the seat and bit into the red apple that he had brought. Jace sunk into a seat beside Ben Stellar, someone who was friends with those girls involved in last year's accident.

"So, who's going to Family Legacy Day?" Cinder Hette questioned, breaking the ice that had settled uncomfortably over the student's lake.

Heather perked up at the mention of the infamous day. "Of course I'm going. You are as well?" She pointed the question at Lionel, who shifted in the spotlight, placed under the table's stares.

"I guess. Not that any of us really have any choice, right?" Lionel forced a weak smile.

"Not all of us have to go." Ben shrugged. "I heard some people are going out for a party during the day and getting high or whatever."

Cinder pushed Ben sideways, and the younger boy nearly fell from his chair. "Don't say things like that, Ben."

"Sorry." Ben mumbled, and then started making extravagant gestures. "Dana! Over here!"

Lionel watched as a short girl with blonde hair hurried over, perching on the spare seat beside Ben. "So, guess what? I've been chosen to audition for the Spirit Squad!"

"Spirit what?" Ben tipped his head sideways.

"Squad!" Dana clapped her hands together. "For Family Legacy Day! Mom's gonna be so happy!"

Cinder cleared her throat. "Well, good luck with that. I'm off to grab some things from my locker."

* * *

The school day had finished, and Jace patted the ground with his stick, finding his way down the steps and into the car park. Lionel was waiting with their father, Brendon, next to the family car. "You alright?" Lionel called as Jace got closer.

"I'm fine." Jace panted, leaning heavily on his stick. "Just so many stairs in this stupid school."

"Jace." Brendon warned, voice rising slightly. "This is a fine school."

Jace rolled his eyes and unsteadily got into the car, followed by his brother. Brendon started the car, reversing and beginning the journey back to their home. The Carter's small home was located half a mile from the school, down a long street of two-story buildings. Jace knew that Cinder and her family lived there, as well as several other kids from school.

Brendon looked into the mirror with a smile. "So what did you do today, boys?"

"I had sports." Lionel beamed. "They've asked me to join the rugby team. It's after school. Would that be alright with you?"

"Of course." Brendon turned his attention to Jace. "What about you? Anything interesting?"

Jace sighed. "Not much. Aunt made me listen to some audio biographies and we had to give this kid some bandages, but other than that I was dying of boredom."

The family was silent until they reached their home. The lights were on (indicating that their mother was home) and the sun had begun to dip behind the clouds. Jace made his way to the front door, letting himself in and finding the smell of Mac and Cheese.

"You're home!" Scarlet called and skidded out to find her children in the doorway, beaming excitedly. "I've made your favorite, and the news is on, so hurry up, guys!"

* * *

After dinner and watching an incredibly ordinary news, Jace made his way up to his room, passing an empty one. The door was open, a cool breeze drifting in from a window. Gritting his teeth, Jace pulled it shut, knowing that Scarlet hated the fact that this had been his sister's room. No, it is his sister's room. Still.

His room was messy. He knew this even without sight, because many a time he fell over piles of clothes or boxes, as if he was packing but going nowhere. Jace fell onto his bed, feeling it bounce underneath him, and felt around in his Dream Box. Nothing. His vocal recordings were still gone, but what had he expected? That someone would just happen to stumble upon them and return them?

All Jace knew was that he would find out who had stolen them and when he did, they would pay.

* * *

 **I hope that you liked this chapter! I know, it took me forever, but I just haven't had any inspiration. Sigh. Anyway, this chapter kind of focused on the Carters. If you want more on them, just leave a review and I might be able to do it.**

 **As always, please review and follow, it'll be greatly appreciated. Constructive criticism, too!**

 **Nat xx**


	6. Chapter 5 - Traditional

CHAPTER FIVE

"Hello and welcome to the start of a new year back at Borderline Secondary!" Misty Flaire stood at the front of the assembly hall, her silver-blonde hair now chopped into a bob, and a smile full of charisma placed on her face. "This will most likely be an exciting year for many, but don't think that you've escaped exams quite yet!"

Dana groaned, rolling her eyes. Exams were the worst. Next to her, Ben was wrecking havoc on his school bag, hidden so that no one would see as he drew smiley faces and curse words on it. On the other side of Dana was Finn, who was strangely quiet. Like everyone who knew him, Dana suspected that he was planning a stupid prank that would land a stylish outfit in A&E. Just like last spring, when her new scarf was blown away by a wind machine that Finn managed to drag into the Science class from the Staff room.

"Alright, I know it sucks." Misty grinned, gesturing for the students to calm the protests. "But it has to be done, otherwise you'll all end up cleaning toilets. No one wants that, do they?"

She was met with hushed murmurs. Seeming satisfied, the senior teacher carried on. "Right. So this assembly is going to be based around Family Legacy Day. I suppose you've all learnt about the founding families?"

Ben dropped the bag he had been wrecking, glancing up with complaint. "No, miss! Please not this, anything but it!" He called, followed by many other comments.

"Sorry, kids." The teacher waved her hands. "Anyway, long story short, the founding families were constantly battling with hardships. But after many years, they decided to settle their differences and create laws and regulations to keep everyone safe. Family Legacy Day celebrates that. We will have many attractions, including an awards ceremony. Be on your best behaviors."

Finn smirked cheekily. "Best? Come on, miss, you know that's impossible with me around."

"Everything is impossible with you around, Finn." Misty laughed, and many students joined in. Ivy nudged Finn and Ben started teasing the boy, throwing other comments at him.

"Carrying on..." Misty continued with a wink in the student's direction. "Family Legacy Day is on November 8th. It isn't compulsory, but it's best if you do attend, at least for a while, especially if you're family is directly involved with the founding families."

Ben groaned and mumbled under his breath, "I'm screwed then. Bring me some of your dad's nice beer, would you, Dana?"

"Shut up, idiot." Dana fake-slapped him, grinning the entire time. "Get your own beer."

"Alright, calm down." Dana's attention was drawn back to Misty, who had clapped her hands several times. "The bell is about to go, so if you'd all leave in a sensible fashion, then you can get to your classes quickly."

* * *

 _Ben killed his bag! Did you see it? -H._

Dana glanced upwards and towards Hazel, who sat opposite her. The said girl was smiling and attempting not to be seen by Miss Fare, the snappy English teacher who was busy marking work at her desk. Dana nodded, seeing the multi-colored bag out the corner of her eye. Ben seemed content enough, flicking through the boring book they had been given to study.

Checking that Miss Fare wasn't looking, Dana managed to find a spare piece of paper and began scrawling on it, naturally in her new glitter pen. Every so often, Dana would look up and if the teacher was looking, she'd pretend to be taking notes.

 _I see it. You going to Family Legacy Day? How about the after party? - D._

When Miss Fare was focusing on her electric pencil sharpener (and learning how to use it - it was the first time she was forced to use something remotely technology related), Dana threw the note, aiming straight for Hazel. It landed short, and Hazel was forced to drop her pencil, fall to the floor and crawl to grab the note.

Dana watched her friend read the note, thinking how note-sending was so much more entertaining than the book they were being made to read. She noticed how Ben had decided to write in a notebook, probably drawing rude pictures, and how was yawning every once in a while. Many other students, she reflected, had barely touched their books. Miss Fare didn't even care - well, she did, but the students knew how to not do their work.

And then she found a note land on her desk. Ever so quietly, Dana unfolded the note, reading it in her head.

 _Of course. Not sure that I'll attend the after-party, because my Mom is strict about alcohol. You? -H._

"What's that note about?" Ben leaned over and hissed, smiling.

"Me and Hazel were talking about Family Legacy Day and the party after."

Quickly, Dana scrawled down her words. As she did so, she thought how nice is was that she had so many friends, and that she was able to pass notes to each other freely; or as freely as Miss Fare allowed, anyway. And then Dana threw her note to Hazel.

 _Of course. Not even my Mom can stop me! - D._

* * *

Thanks so much for reading!

Also, it's my birthday. So, reviews, maybe? Possibly? And if you have a request, please tell me!

Love,

Nat xxx

(I'm a birthday girl, whoop whoop)


	7. Chapter 6 - Don't Look Back

**Chapter Six**

Students were rushing off the school grounds as the bell for dismissal rung out clearly. Ivy was slouched on the steps in the shade, a scowl written on her face in permanent marker. Books were spilling out of her bag; mainly History books. She huffed to herself. Who even cared about Legacy Day and the founding families? They were old. Three hundred and thirteen years old, actually. According to the History books, anyway.

Finn appeared out of nowhere, causing Ivy to jump up with a half-angry and half-surprised shriek. The red-haired boy threw his head back and laughed, which made Ivy even more annoyed. She sat back down and swung her bag at him. "Hey!" He grinned. "I'm not that scary, am I?"

"Actually, you are pretty ugly." Ivy stuck out her tongue. "Don't do that, okay?"

Her friend spotted the Legacy Day books and leaned forward, pulling one out. "Gosh, I don't get why teachers are so obsessed over this, do you? Miss Cloud would have murdered me, had she not been a teacher, when I told her that it's a load of BS."

"I know." Ivy rolled her eyes. "Our parents too. Dad hasn't stopped nagging about it."

"I'm thinking of missing it. Skiving." Finn smirked. "I'm not giving Miss Cloud the benefit of a doubt."

Ivy whistled. "Making bets with a teacher? That's low, dude, real low."

"What? No!" He shoved the book back into her bag. "Miss Cloud said she'd have me in detention for a month if I didn't go. And I saw that as an opportunity for pranks."

"You are unbelievable." Ivy grinned. "But I wouldn't want Miss Cloud staring at me for any longer than five minutes. So what are you going to do if you don't go to Family Legacy Day?"

Finn made his eyebrows dance, grinning cheekily. "I'm going to start the after-party early, of course."

"Oh. The after-party." She made a face. "All those popular people are going, aren't they?"

He stared at her. "You mean, your sister."

Ivy nodded. "Yeah. Her."

Before Finn could ask what was up, Ivy had grabbed her bag and was jogging down the stairs, towards the school's bus. Finn leapt after her. "Wow! Slow down, Ivy!" He called. She did slow down and turned reluctantly towards him. She tended to be alone, but that didn't mean she liked being lonely.

"Sorry." Ivy apologized, gripping her bag firmly. "You know how it is. It's complicated. Story of my life, actually."

Finn chuckled. "You could say that again."

* * *

Lionel Carter was the stereotypical jock type. Wide shoulders and muscular. And a golden smile that could kill. The sun was illuminated behind the trees as the teenager stood among the rest of the Rugby team, for tryouts. He was stood beside Ben, who was rather short and not at all like Lionel. Ben shifted uneasily, but still with a smile on his face.

"Nervous?" Lionel asked.

Ben shook his head. "Not at all, my friend."

He was just about to say something else when none other than Brent Ferguson. The boy's black hair was messy, but his eyes were bright and they scanned the crowd with a disapproving manner. Lionel never thought he'd see the day that Brent would tryout for the Rugby team. He was more of a weird sight than Ben - lithe, thin and not an ounce of muscle.

He'll be squashed, Lionel mused. He partly liked the idea and was partially disgusted.

Then appeared Dustin and Scott, father and son. Dustin had dark brown hair and was muscular but lithe at the same time. Scott, meanwhile, had raven-black hair, with eyes that didn't miss a thing. He too was lithe.

"Right." Dustin clapped his hands together. "Shall we see what you can all do?"

* * *

 **There we have it - another chapter! Confetti, please. Yes, yes, thank you!**

 **I apologize so much for being inactive. I hate going inactive, but I was so busy. I'M BACK FROM THE DEAD, PEEPS.**

 **Not literally. But I am returning and I will be updating as much as possible.**

 **Reviews are welcome; all constructive criticism taken in with open arms.**

 ***cough cough* thankyousomuch *cough cough***

 **Love ya!**

 **Starcrossed Ivy/Natty xx**


	8. Chapter 7 - Don't Want To Know

**Chapter Seven**

Dana sat at the back of the bus, her hair draped over one shoulder and her eyes glittering happily. Today had been simply _perfect_. Ben had his feet propped on the seat in from of him, Cinder had pressed herself into a corner and Tyler was yawning from beside Dana. She wondered how they had become friends - so different, they all were! But she loved it. She adored being able to hang out with her friends.

Just as she opened her mouth to speak to Tyler, her sister and that boy.. what was his name?... swung onto the bus. Ivy looked like someone had shoved a stick up her butt.

"Hello, sister." Dana beamed cheerily. "Good day?"

Ivy stared back. The red-haired boy beside her shifted uncomfortably. "It was just wonderful, thanks." Ivy responded in a robot-like tone.

"That's good!" Dana nodded. "Well, I made it into the Spirit Squad! I cannot _wait_ for Legacy Day!"

"Really?" The red-haired boy raised his eyebrows. What was his name again? Dana shrugged. "I can't believe you of all want to go to this thing!"

Dana pressed her lips together. "What's your name again?"

The boy blinked rapidly. "It's Finn. We've known each other for about five years now."

"Oh. Well, you can't be that important if I've forgotten you." Dana grinned.

Ivy glared back at Dana, who shifted away from her gaze. The bus rumbled into a start and numerous conversations began circling the bus. Dana and Tyler immediately leapt into a conversation about Legacy Day, Ben was boasting about try-outs and Ivy and Finn were rolling their eyes and trying not to send provoking and sarcastic comments to the people around them.

* * *

"How was school?" Whitney peered out from the kitchen, pale blonde hair pulled into a messy ponytail and green eyes bright. "Anything interesting happen?"

Dana trotted into the house with her typical feminine flaunt, flicking a piece of hair from her eyes as she went. "Hi, mum!" She smiled. "I have so much to tell you, today was so amazing! I made the Spirit Squad and I might join the decoration team for Legacy Day-"

"I had such a great time as well." Ivy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I mean having a one-thousand page book thrown at you is my idea of fun, totally."

"Please be serious, Ivy." Whitney shook her head slightly. "Did you really have fun today or not? Honest."

"No, I really did not enjoy myself." Ivy breathed, before turning on her heels and jogging up the stairs, leaving her mother and sister with symmetrically confused expressions.

Dana shrugged after a few moments of shock. "She's fine. She'll get over it."

* * *

Lionel shoved the door of his home open, a gust of cold air sending multiple pieces of paper up into the air. "I'm home, guys!" He called.

Wandering forward, he found his father, Brendon, flat-out asleep on the sofa. Lionel padded forward and poked Brendon several times before giving up. He knew that Scarlet would still be at school and Jace should already be home. So Lionel rushed up stairs and pushed open his brother's room, to find his blind brother halfway under the bed, scrambling around wildly.

"What on Earth are you doing?!" Lionel remarked with raised eyebrows. There was more scrambling, followed by a yelp and then Jace appeared.

"I thought you were Dad!" He gulped. "I was just looking for something-"

Lionel chuckled. "What were you looking for? I could help if you want..."

"No, no!" Jace pulled himself up onto his bed. "I'm fine, it wasn't important, anyway."

"Okay." Lionel shrugged and settled beside Jace on the bed. "How was school.. and Aunt Leah?"

Jace didn't reply for a moment, seeming lost in his own thoughts. "Oh, yeah.. it was alright. Aunt was annoying as ever, the students as stupid as ever- You know, I had someone come in because they had a paper cut and they thought they were dying."

Lionel burst out laughing and had to hold his sides. "That was Finn, he thought he'd prank you and Leah, so he got some ketchup from the cafeteria and squirted it on his finger."

"You have got to be kidding." Jace groaned. "I actually put a plaster on his goddamn finger!"

"And I thought you were smart." Lionel poked Jace's arm. "I made the rugby team, you know."

"Congrats." Jace clapped. "When are the next tryouts, I was thinking of joining."

After a moment of thinking he was actually serious, Lionel burst into laughter again. "Yeah, good luck with that, JJ."

"Don't call me that, Bertie." Jace sniggered.

"Bertie? Where the Hell did you get that from?" Lionel blinked several times.

Jace shook his head. "That's for me to know and you to find out."

* * *

"Do you have any classes with me tomorrow?" Ivy spoke into the silver phone. "I, like, need to be with someone I actually get on with."

There was a hum on the other end of the phone. "I think I have Science with you." Finn replied. "Nope, Maths, actually."

"Well, you're good at Maths, aren't you?" She asked.

"Not at all." Finn's voice crackled a bit on the phone.

Ivy paused. "But don't you need to be good at Maths to measure ingredients and all for your pranks?"

"Ha, ha." Finn coughed and cleared his throat. "I just guess."

"That's great, real great." Ivy rolled her eyes, even though she knew he couldn't see it. "I guess I'll see you in Maths, then."

"Yeah, you too, Falleh." He hummed again. "See you on the bus tomorrow?"

"Yep." Ivy hung up and pressed her phone onto the bedside table. She let herself fall back on the bed and she yawned. "I hate school. I really, really hate school."

* * *

Hope you enjoyed that chapter!

Please review/leave a comment. I love hearing feedback, even if it's to tell me how crap my writing is. But nice reviews are appreciated as well ;)

I might start doing Question Of The Day as well, just so that I can hear some opinions or whatever. Otherwise I feel a thousand miles away from ya'll.

Which I probably am, but hey ho.

Thanks for reading!

Cookieeeees (:;) (:;)


	9. Chapter 8 - Light It Up

**Chapter Eight**

Most of the next day passed without fault for Ivy, up until Science. English had been alright, Maths had been exhausting (Finn decided to be himself, and that was mentally draining) and Drama hadn't actually been very dramatic, for once. The moment Ivy walked into Science, however, she immediately regretted the slight bit of happiness she had been feeling.

Reed Terrell was at the front of his classroom, frantically scribbling notes and ignoring the rowdy bunch of teenagers behind him. Ivy hardly knew anyone in this class, so she grabbed the nearest seat that she could find without making eye contact with anyone.

"Alright, class." Mr Terrell turned to face them. "I have decided to implement a seating plan since you all seem so keen to get started."

Everyone groaned and stood up, and began to disperse as Mr Terrell forced them into seats next to people they hated. So when it came to Ivy's turn, she avoided staring at her partner and focused on getting out her equipment instead. But when she did turn to see who it was, she was torn between whacking him with her revision guide and running out of the classroom; Brent Ferguson.

They made awkward eye contact for a few seconds, before hurriedly looking away. Ivy forced herself to focus on what Mr Terrell was saying, but sitting next to this guy was making it incredibly difficult. She really should punch him or something. But maybe not now, in the middle of a classroom.

"A practical now!" Mr Terrell gestured towards the Bunsen Burners at the front of the classroom, the test tubes and the variety of ingredients. "Come and grab what you need and please don't be silly. You'll be working with your partner."

Ivy followed numbly behind Brent, who was already scooping up equipment and ingredients, as if it were a world catastrophe. She grabbed a Bunsen Burner and returned to her table, setting it up and mentally preparing herself. They had done this experiment numerous times before and Ivy could remember every step of it, but Mr Terrell went through it all anyway. What he was saying was ignored and the students carried on with what they were doing.

The peace didn't last long.

"You got a broken Bunsen Burner." Brent said, pointing at it. "That won't exactly help us, you know."

"Go get a new one, then." Ivy blinked and forced a smile.

He stared at her. She stared back. "You got this one, so go get a new one." He replied.

"No." Ivy raised an eyebrow.

They both went silent and eventually Brent gave up, returning with a decent enough Bunsen Burner. Ivy mixed the chemicals and placed it above the Bunsen Burner, and both of them began to wait.

"You're doing it wrong." Brent rolled his eyes. "You have to move it slowly, so that it doesn't burn."

"You do it then, if you're so sure you know everything." Ivy pressed her lips together.

"I never said that."

"You act like it."

Brent stood up and placed his book on the desk. "Stop acting like you're all high-and-mighty. Frankly, I think you're a bit hypocritical."

"So are you." Ivy shot back. "You act like I do everything wrong."

"Because you do!" Brent fumed. "I've never once seen you put effort into anything!"

Ivy felt her cheeks burning and her heart pounding. "You don't know anything about me!"

"So don't act like you know me!" Brent's voice was rapidly raising.

"How can you say I do everything wrong?" Ivy decided to match the intensity of Brent's voice. "You bully everyone I care about, don't ever say I do everything wrong! I don't hurt people, like you do!"

And that's when a bright spark lit up the room and made a gigantic "BOMF" sound. Ivy felt the heat from their experiment and she flinched away with a yelp. Brent did the same, but instead of a confused expression, he took a few steps back and motioned for Ivy to get away. She stepped back and turned to look at the Bunsen Burner. It was glowing a bright orange/red, and the glass was starting to melt slightly. But Ivy wasn't concerned about that and nor was anyone else.

They were more concerned about the chemicals inside the test tube.

Mr Terrell rushed forward and forced Ivy and Brent back, as well as the rest of the class. He turned and faced them. "Alright, no one panic. In theory this shouldn't actually-"

He was cut off by numerous sounds. A large "POP" sound and the sound of shattering class, as a roaring flame leapt up and the chemicals caused a reaction. Mr Terrell jumped away and stared in dismay at the glass and fire. Smoke began to fill the classroom and no more than five seconds later, the fire alarm was ringing frantically.

"Out, everyone." Mr Terrell waved his arms. "Sports field, now. Just like we always practise, don't panic."

Ivy trailed behind her class, the annoying fire alarm droning on and on, her classmates stunned silent. Those also in Science, but in different classes, were filing out with confused looks. She tried to hide her face, so that no one could see how red she was, but found that she couldn't look away from Brent Ferguson, who was striding as if nothing had happened.

So much for an ordinary day, Ivy mused. Then she wondered how much trouble she was going to be in.

Her answer?

Loads.

* * *

Thank you so much for reading!

I hope you enjoyed it. Yes, this is actually important for the story line.. you'll see.

Anyway, please shoot me a review at some point, I'd really appreciate it!

QOTD: Favourite character?

(Either my portrayal or the original WC characters?)

COOKIES FOR EVERYONE!

(:;) (:;) (:;)


	10. Chapter 9 - Bad Ass Hot Mess

**Chapter Nine**

Finn had been enjoying a Drama lesson when the fire alarm droned it's familiar song. All eyes turned to the red-head, but this time it hadn't been one of his pranks. He shrugged and shook his head. Even the teacher raised his eyebrows at Finn, who hurriedly explained that it wasn't him (unless he had somehow managed to create a clone of himself - or if a future version of himself had travelled back in time. Both were plausible).

The class began heading for the sports field, all talking in a hushed murmur but not making it obvious - so that the teachers would not pick up on it. Finn moved up beside Hazel, who turned her head. "Do you know what happened?" Finn questioned curiously.

"What, you didn't do it?" Hazel's eyes widened. "Oh.. then who did?"

Miss Cloud wandered up beside them and glanced between Hazel and Finn, who went silent and continued to follow their classmates. They reached the top of the bank and lined up in their classes.

Lionel peered from behind Ben and Dana, all of which looked equally as confused. Heather was mumbling a low voice to Tyler. The rest of the student body were either silent, talking to each other and glancing around with a mixture of curiosity and confusion.

Finn looked to his left and spotted Ivy, who was staring at the ground. He checked for teachers looking his way, before leaning forward and hissing, "Ivy! Hey, Ivy! Over here."

She turned and smiled at him weakly. "Yeah?"

"Do you know who did it?" Finn asked. "I bet they'll be in lots of trouble."

Ivy stared back. She chewed her lip. "I have no idea. Not you?"

"Nope." Finn shrugged. "I mean, unless I have a clone or something..."

He trailed off as Mr Heavern, with vibrant red hair and green eyes, stepped forward. "Hello, everyone. I'm deeply sorry to drag you away from lessons - I'm sure you were having great fun - but we had a bit of a problem in the Science department. Nothing big. Just an experiment gone wrong. I repeat, nothing bad. No need to panic."

Finn leaned forward.

"I will now ask the people who did it to come to my office after this is over." Mr Heavern paused. "Brent Ferguson and Ivy Falleh."

An intake of breath from the student body and all eyes turned to Brent and Ivy. Finn followed their gazes and stared at Ivy. Brent.. yeah, he could believe that alright. But Ivy? That was one big plot twist.

Miss Flaire explained some more things, but Finn had zoned out and was focused on Ivy. In all his time of knowing Ivy, he didn't think that she'd ever do something quite so... quite so Finn!

As the students were dismissed, Finn almost tripped over as his eyes followed Ivy. Obviously being around Finn was leaving some sort of ripple effect on Ivy.

* * *

"Brent Ferguson and Ivy Falleh?" Mr Heavern placed his paperwork back on the desk and raised an eyebrow. He stared at Ivy. "You have an almost clean record at this school. Brent, you are remarkably talented for getting into trouble and tricky situations."

Ivy wrapped her hands together in her lap and breathed in sharply.

"I really should give you both consequences-" He paused and glanced between them. "- But I understand that it was an honest mistake. It's Science. Things going bang is normal. However, I also understand that both of you had failed to responsibly attend to your experiment. In the future, please focus on your work. Next time, I won't be so forgiving."

She breathed out and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Thank you so much. I promise this will be the first and last time something like that ever happens."

"We'll see." Mr Heavern nods. "What are you two waiting for? Off you go!"

Ivy and Brent both scrambled out of the room, as fast as possible. They glanced at each other once they were out of the room. Brent set his jaw and looked straight ahead; Ivy chewed her lip and shrugged, shouldering her bag and retreating as fast as possible.

* * *

"I can't believe it!" Dana hissed. "My own sister... how... what?"

Ben shrugged. "Who knows, huh?"

Cinder grinned. "Seems like Finn's rubbing off on her."

The school bus was beginning to fill up with students, and they had all resumed their normal seats. Ivy flitted onto the bus and stared down the aisle at her friends (and sister). But part of her couldn't face them. She was paused in the middle of the bus, hesitating between being strong or doing what she wanted.

Ivy shook her head and grabbed the nearest seat, away from her friends, and plugged herself into her phone. She put on a playlist and tried to shut out the world, closing her eyes and leaning against the window of the bus.

Her peace was disturbed as someone settled down beside her. A moment later and she was being poked repetitively, until she pulled out her earphones and turned to the person. And, oh joy, it was the person she least wanted to see, next to Brent; Finn.

"Hey, is it alright if I sit here?" Finn smiled. "Don't be too worried.. did you get into trouble?"

Ivy sighed. "No."

"Then you should be celebrating!" Finn suggested happily, with a beaming grin. "I didn't know you were such a bad-ass. Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I'm not a bad-ass." Ivy shook her head. "I'm a hot mess."

Finn tilted his head. "True, but you're a bad-ass hot mess."

Ivy broke out into a laugh and whacked Finn on the arm. "You are such an idiot."

"I know." Finn grinned.

* * *

Thanks for reading!

Just as a random note, I'll probably write between 800-1200 words per chapter. Do you prefer longer chapters with slower updates or shorter chapters with quicker updates? Please leave a review with your opinion :)

QOTD: Favourite book of the WC series'?

Thanks xx

COOKIES (:;) (:;)


	11. Chapter 10 - Ribbon

**Chapter Ten**

October came and settled itself neatly over the country, the temperature dropping and leaves littering the floor. Nothing overly news-worthy had happened since the Science accident, and Ivy hadn't spoken a word to Brent, and vice versa. Finn had gone quiet, Dana even more hyper, Lionel was focusing intently upon rugby practise, Jace had been holed up with Aunt Leah and Ivy was... well, Ivy.

That Monday morning, Ivy had awoke in a begrudging manner, hair tousled and exhaustion wrapping her up. Somehow, Ivy had managed to be persuaded into hanging posters for the Halloween Disco, which Dana had joined (Ivy knew this because Dana wouldn't shut up about it).

"What ya doing?" Ben appeared from behind Ivy, and she slapped the poster onto the wall, bitterly.

"What does it look like?" Ivy rolled her eyes. "I'm hanging posters for your girlfriend."

Ben blinked. "Girlfriend? Dana? Ew, no. That's not.. I'm not.. No!"

"Uh-huh." She tucked a strand of hair behind an ear. "You keep believing that, Stellar."

Without another word, Ivy turned and headed away, towards the Common Room. The moment she pushed the door open, Finn was at her side, dragging her to a couch. Ivy tried frantically to pull her arm from his grip.

"What are you doing, Finn?" Ivy growled. "Get off!"

He let her go and plopped himself onto the couch. "Top-secret mission." He grinned.

"Not very secret, is it?" Ivy gestured to the other students. "What is it?"

"You're hanging the posters." He pointed to a poster behind his head. "Halloween Disco! You know the tradition, right?"

The tradition. Of course. Ivy sighed and sat tenderly on the edge of the couch. Finn, being an undeniably mischievous prankster, had marked the Halloween Disco as the Night of Pranks. Every year, he would set out to top the previous year with the most spectacular whole-school prank. Last year, Finn dressed up as the Mad Hatter, gave everyone real rabbits and gave everyone tea, in the form of an ice-cold tea shower.

Ivy had no idea what to expect this year. "So what were you thinking?"

"Hm..." Finn placed a finger on his chin. "No idea. You?"

"I don't prank people." Ivy shook her head and shrugged.

Finn, however, seemed to already have an idea. He leaned forward. "No, actually, you "accidentally" prank people. You could be my new partner in crime, that stunt you pulled a few weeks ago! What do you say?"

"What?" Ivy blinked rapidly.

"The Bunsen Burner accident?" Finn raised an eyebrow. "Why not.. oh, get Brent back?"

She shook her head. "No way."

"Yes way." Finn nodded quickly.

* * *

"I was thinking," Dana held up a red and black ribbon. "Or maybe the green and silver?"

Ben jerked awake, his head slipping from his hand. He glanced around quickly and realized that Dana was staring at him. Adjusting his clothes, hair and appearance, Ben tried to make himself look casual, as if he hadn't just of fallen asleep. Why would he fall asleep?

"What do you think?" She held the ribbons forward. "Ben? Which colour scheme is better?"

"Uh..." Ben looked between the ribbons. "Black and red?"

Dana placed the ribbons and down and clapped her hands. "Good choice! I would have chosen the same."

"Um, Dana?" Ben asked quietly.

"Uh-huh?" Dana smiled. "Yeah, what's up?"

She shuffled around the numerous decorations, until she popped up with a box of fairy lights. Dana started trying to unwrap them, half-listening to what Ben was saying. He coughed and cleared his throat a few times.

"I was wondering.." Cough. "Do you think? We could maybe.. um..."

Dana put the fairy lights down and blinked. "Yes?"

"Could we go to the disco together?" He cleared his throat quickly. "You know, as friends."

"Oh, yes, sure!" Dana beamed. "That would be great!"

* * *

Cinder and Hazel glowered at Lionel as he tried (unsuccessfully) to gain their attention by showing off in the corridor. He ended up tripping and stumbling - making a fool of himself in front of half the student body.

Hazel sniggered. "Idiot."

"You could say that again." Cinder giggled.

The boy let out an annoyed sound and placed his hands on his hips, before being basically dragged away by some of the other boys in his rugby team. Cinder laughed quietly and Hazel rolled her eyes, as the two girls set off for English. On the way, they joined up with Dana, who was staring intently at pieces of ribbon. Hazel raised a curious eyebrow.

"I never knew that ribbon was so interesting." Hazel commented. "Care to tell us why you look like you're waiting for it to start speaking?"

Dana sniffed. "I'm sorting out the colour scheme for the disco. We decided on black and red, so now I'm trying to envision what we could do and what I'm going to wear."

"I know!" Cinder waved her hands excitedly. "How about a shopping trip on Sunday? I'm busy on Saturday, but I'm sure most of us are free on Sunday, right? We could drag some of the others with us and maybe meet up for coffee with the boys, if they're not content with wasting away in their own filth."

A harrumph came from Dana and she smiled. "I don't think all of the boys sit around in filth. Not Ben, anyway."

"Huh?" Hazel leaned forward.

"He asked me to the disco." Dana grinned happily. "Which is why this shopping trip is so important!"

Cinder let out a low whistle and then sighed. "I still don't have a partner. Still working on that."

The bell for their next lesson rang and they headed away to English, but they're minds were elsewhere as they tried to figure out what to wear and who they were going to ask to the disco.

* * *

 **Thanks so much for reading!**

 **I haven't updated in AGES and I feel so bad. I'm incredibly sorry *hands out cookies*.**

 **Anyway, I will try to update some more and free some time for this story because.. what can I say?... I love Warrior Cats, especially as humans!**

 **Thanks for all the support ^.^**

 **Kisses,**

 **StarcrossedIvy x**


	12. Chapter 11 - Dates for a Disco

**Chapter Eleven**

Breaks were a welcome time for relaxation and for Ivy, she was ever so thankful. Having spent most of her free time hanging up posters or being forced to sit through Finn's long winded ideas for pranks, she was exhausted and just wanted to curl up and fall asleep. So that break, Ivy decided to kick her legs up in the Common Room and close her eyes for a bit. For a while, she managed to let herself rest and she was close to falling into a deep sleep, but was interrupted when a bag was dropped into her lap.

"What the-" Ivy shot awake and found herself staring at a happy-looking Cinder. "Oh. What's up?"

"We've got a job to do." Cinder declared.

Ivy felt absolutely drained. She didn't want to move - let alone go on whatever mission Cinder had thought up. Her muscles ached and a headache was nagging at her. "What is it?" Ivy sighed.

"Firstly, we need to get you a date," Cinder paused. "And then we need to get you a dress."

Her heart thumped uncomfortably. "Date? Dress? No way."

Cinder's grin widened and suddenly, Ivy felt as if there was no questioning the older student. A thousand terrible scenarios flooded through her mind and a flicker of panic gripped her. The disco was a terrible idea; why in the world had she ended up in this position?

* * *

Friday arrived quicker than the students had expected. Ivy had been unsuccessful in finding a date. They all either didn't know her, didn't like her or were scared of her. Which meant that the remaining percent of the students were either too old or already had dates. Or just repelled her. So Ivy put on a smile and tried to act like that was perfectly fine. She was happy that she didn't have to go with someone but a part of her felt left out.

"Eh, a date is just a date." Finn shrugged. "I'm only going with Hazel because she nagged me into agreeing."

Ivy groaned. "At least someone nagged you."

"Well, I know one dude who doesn't have a date." Finn grinned mischievously. "And he's right over there."

Raising her eyebrow, Ivy turned in the direction that he had pointed in - and she almost felt like puking. Of course it just had to be the one person she hated most in the world (alongside her sister). Brent Ferguson. How many times did she have to end up in a silly situation with him?

Ivy crossed her arms. "You have got to be kidding, Finn. No way am I getting a date with him. You remember what happened the last time I was with him. I caught my Science classroom on fire."

"...which was cool!" Finn argued. "Come on, it'll be funny. And maybe you could dump him just before the disco? Or I could prank him and then you could dump him? No, even better! You could-"

"NO, Finn!" Ivy screeched as loud as she could. He went silent. "I honestly don't care about your pranks. I'm not going to make myself miserable so that you can have a bit of fun. You're a great friend, but sometimes I think you don't care about me, so long as you get a kick out of your ridiculous pranks."

She shut her mouth, pulled her bag onto her shoulder and stormed out of the Common Room.

* * *

Hazel nudged the girl and smiled. "The disco will be better than Legacy Day, I promise."

The other girl, Blossom, shrugged. "If you say so."

"Stop being such a misery!" Hazel placed her hands on her hips. "You'll have plenty of fun. So, me and Cinder were talking and we haven't decided on outfits yet. We were thinking that we could go out on Sunday for a shopping trip?"

Blossom stared at her hands and let out a long sigh. "Well, I guess it will take my mind off of other things."

Other things meant her family, Hazel guessed. She smiled and grabbed Blossom's shoulders. "That's my girl! Right, let's grab some food before we starve to death."

The frown that Blossom had been wearing changed into a smile as they made their way to the cafeteria.

* * *

On Saturday morning, Lionel and Jace spent the morning watching television and in the afternoon, they went out to the local park. There, Lionel played football with Ben and Tyler whilst Jace sat on a bench and tried not to fall asleep. The evening rolled around and after dinner Lionel scribbled down his homework and Jace listened to music. Lionel's homework time was interrupted by his phone beeping crazily on the table. He grabbed it and scrolled through his messages, replying as he went.

 **Cinder: Hey, are you coming tomorrow?**

 **Lionel: What? Where?**

 **Cinder: Oh. Shopping trip with the girls. We thought we could meet up with you and the guys for coffee.**

 **Lionel: Sounds like a plan, see you there!**

And then he stumbled across a message by Heather.

 **Heather: I was wondering if I could ask you something?**

 **Lionel: Yeah?**

 **Heather: Could we maybe go to the disco together?**

 **Lionel: Sure thing. Are you coming shopping tomorrow?**

 **Heather: Yep.**

 **Lionel: See you there, then.**

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **I know, two chapters in one night... they see me rollin', they hatin'. 8)**

 **Ahem, that's not funny. Please leave a review and maybe follow if you liked this chapter!**

 **Have a great day,**

 **StarcrossedIvy x**


	13. Chapter 12 - Dress Dilemma

**Chapter Twelve**

For Ivy, it felt like the end of the world. Don't get me wrong, she loved to look for some new clothes - just not when she was shopping for dresses. Ivy didn't like discos as it were and now she had to go in dress? She really wanted to curl into a ball and cry, right there and then. She, Cinder, Hazel, Dana, Heather, Blossom, Isla, Poppy and Honey were stood in front of the clothes shop.

Ivy groaned quietly and then raised her voice. "Do we have to do this? I could wait out here."

"No." Dana crossed her arms. "We are getting you a dress, whether or not we have to drag you in by your hair or not. Your choice."

She sighed and followed the group into the shop. Dana jumped at the first dress she saw and before long, she and Hazel had disappeared to the changing rooms. Ivy stared distastefully at the dresses which came in all shapes, sizes, colours and styles. Most seemed bright and happy-looking... and far too short.

Isla held up a pale blue dress with one shoulder, and smiled. "Do you think this will look alright?"

"You know that this is a Halloween disco, right?" Ivy replied and forced a weak smile. "But I don't mind the colour. It'll look nice, I think."

The other girl ran an eye up and down the dress. "I know that it's for Halloween, yeah. I was thinking a doll? Or maybe I won't dress up at all. You?"

Ivy shrugged. "No idea. Maybe a corpse?"

Isla's mouth dropped open and she blinked rapidly. "That's gross. I'm going to go try this dress on."

She watched Isla hurry away and plopped herself on a seat. Ivy really hated this. No dress looked even remotely nice. A moment later, Dana was prancing around the store in a short white dress, beaming happily. Ivy rolled her eyes and Dana placed her hands on her hips. "What do you think?" She flashed that annoyingly shiny grin. "I'm going as an angel."

 _Sounds about right,_ Ivy thought to herself.

Hazel appeared soon after with a longer white dress. She stood next to Dana and wore a similarly excited expression. "We're both going as angels. You know, so that we match for a group photo?"

"Honestly?" Ivy slammed her mouth shut. "I mean, that's a nice idea."

A few minutes later and most of the group had dresses - all except for Ivy and Blossom. Heather had chosen a dark pink dress and Isla had decided to go for the light blue, whilst Poppy had chosen a dark green dress and Honey had picked out a red dress.

"Our turn." Blossom frowned. "Seen anything you like?"

Ivy shook her head. "I'm not very fond of dresses."

"I'm not obsessed." Blossom paused. "But my mum likes to dress us up for formal gatherings and all. And we need to be smart for Legacy Day, so..."

"Great." Ivy gritted her teeth. "Might as well get this over with."

* * *

The boys didn't really have any idea of what to get, so they shopped around at numerous Halloween-themed stores and went to a few home stores for reasons Finn would not tell them about. Finn had disappeared and so Lionel and the others awkwardly toured the store. Lionel grabbed a scented candle, inhaled the smell and started to make retching sounds.

"What is wrong with you?" Ben asked.

"I don't understand!" Lionel gasped. "Heather and Cinder are always going on about scented candles... I don't get it!"

Tyler rolled his eyes. "They make good birthday gifts for the girls, though."

"Fair point," Lionel glowered at the candles as they carried on.

Eventually, they found Finn with three bags full of wrapped up items. The others raised their eyebrows but didn't question him. They'd find out on Friday. So the boys hurried out of the home store and decided to chill out on a few benches. Tyler glanced at his phone.

 **Dana: Just finished up dress shopping.**

 **Dana: Meeting you at the coffee shop.**

 **Dana: Don't be late.**

 **Dana: See you there xox**

Tyler grinned and checked the time, before jumping to his feet. "We'd better get to that shop we're meeting the girls up. Dana doesn't want us to be late."

The others nodded and started walking in the general direction of the store. And then Ben came to a halt. "Wait, how do you know that Dana doesn't want us to be late?"

* * *

Ivy pressed her hands to the warm mug of coffee she had picked. Blossom had gone silent beside her, listening carefully to the boy's discussion. Some of them had immediately leapt into conversation with the boys, others were more concerned about their coffee and Ivy just didn't want to be there. Finn kept trying to multi-task, by talking to Hazel and trying to catch Ivy's attention.

Blossom eventually nudged Ivy and jerked her head towards Finn. "I thought you two were friends. Did you have an argument?"

"Something like that." Ivy shrugged. "It's teaching him a lesson."

"What did he say?" Blossom asked curiously.

With a sigh, she chewed her lip and focused her attention on Blossom. "He wants me to go out with Brent so that he can prank him."

A gasp of surprise came from Blossom. It was so unusual that everyone at the table went quiet. Even Dana, who had been enthusiastically talking to Ben and Tyler. Everyone was silent. Blossom cleared her throat and glanced at Ivy. "Um, yes, carry on?"

"And I told him that I wasn't going to be miserable just for his benefit." Ivy concluded.

"I think that's admirable." Blossom nodded. "Just shows that you're strong."


	14. Chapter 13 - Planning Makes Perfect

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

The laptop was propped up on several pillows and Ivy glowered at it. She was lying on her bed, searching for answers to her Math homework. But no answers were coming and the laptop certainly wasn't helping matters. "I'm going to get a detention." Ivy spat at the piece of technology. "And it's all your fault!"  
"What's my fault?" Dana appeared at the doorway.  
Ivy turned and forced a smile. "Nothing. I was talking to the computer."  
The other girl raised an eyebrow. "Okay. Weirdo. Just- oh, Ivy!"

Sitting up, Ivy brushed a strand of hair from her eyes and asked, "What now?"  
"You need a necklace or something!" Dana waved her hands. "To go with your dress!"  
"Why?" Ivy questioned. "No one will see it anyway."  
Dana shot a glare in her direction. "The necklace is the most important part! I'll take a look."

A second later and Dana was rummaging through Ivy's dusty jewellery box. Ivy stared at her sister's back, rolling her eyes. "I thought the dress was the most important part." She mumbled under her breath.  
Ivy's phone vibrated from it's place next to the laptop.

 **Finn: Hey  
Finn: Still ignoring me?  
Ivy: Yep.  
Finn: Okay. I have an idea. Just hear me out.  
Ivy: Go ahead.  
Finn: Right, so you know what I said about Brent?  
Ivy: Uh-huh.  
Finn: Well, it's not such a bad idea.  
Finn: I know you don't want to go with him.  
Ivy: Yeah.  
Finn: Which is why you don't have to!  
Finn: Just abandon him the moment you get to the disco.  
Finn: You won't even have to see him!  
Ivy: Right, okay...  
Ivy: I'm still ignoring you.  
Finn: I know.**

* * *

Dana eventually found something suitable and waved Ivy away from her phone, a huge grin on her face. "Look what I found!" She held up a necklace.  
"Huh." Ivy stared at it sceptically. "I haven't seen it before."  
"Oh?" Dana admired it. "I've seen it before. Just after our accident. Mam said that I shouldn't try and steal from your jewellery box-"  
Ivy raised her eyebrows. "What?"  
"Sorry, yes, I look in your jewellery box a lot because you have so much stuff that you never use-" Dana paused. "Sorry, again."

"Can I have a closer look?" Ivy asked and took the necklace from her sister's grip, looking at it a bit closer. The chain was silver and there was an ice blue pendant at the centre, which glittered in the light. "It's awfully pretty. I wonder which of our relatives gave it to me..."  
Her sister leaned in closer. "I have no idea why they gave it to you. You don't like shiny things, let alone jewellery!"

Ivy shrugged and placed the necklace on her bed. "I'll ask Mam about it later."  
Dana wrapped her arms around Ivy with a squeal. "You'll look great in that necklace and that dress!"  
"Okay.." Ivy gritted her teeth. "You can let go now, Dana."  
"Got it." Dana backed away, straightened her top and danced out of the room.

* * *

Monday arrived and the Common Room was packed - it had started to rain. Ivy was curled on a sofa with a book propped on her lap, yawning with exhaustion as the day dragged on. Suddenly, Finn and Hazel burst into the room, dripping with rain. They were soaked. Both of them rushed to where Ivy was and claimed a sofa for themselves.  
"Blah!" Hazel spat and squeezed out her hair. "Lucky!"  
She stared at Ivy, who was completely dry.

"I wasn't going to risk it." Ivy smiled and shrugged. "And I seemed to be right."  
Finn glowered at her. "Yeah, yeah."  
Ivy arched a brow. "Someone's a bit better. Don't like the rain much?"  
"Who even likes the rain?" He rolled his eyes. "I'm going to take forever to dry."  
"Serves you right!" Hazel punched him jokily. "You spilled soup on my revision guide."  
Finn coughs. "It's not like you were revising anyway."

Hazel stuck her tongue out and crossed her arms, leaning back against the sofa.  
"Hey, any thoughts about what I told you?" Finn aimed the question at Ivy.  
Closing the book, Ivy stared at him. "What did you tell me?"  
"Oh, yeah, you were ignoring me." Finn grinned.  
"Well, I guess it would work." Ivy paused. "But Brent won't even look at me. As if I'll even be able to ask him to the disco."

In a state of surprise, Hazel started coughing hysterically, flailing her arms. Finn and Ivy watched, their faces crumpled in confusion as they watched. Once the girl had managed to breathe again, she glanced between them. "Brent?" She drew in a deep breath.  
"Yep." Finn smiled. "The one and only."  
Ivy tucked a strand of hair behind an ear. "Finn wants to prank him and I was thinking-"  
"Since when were you on-board with the idea?" Finn asked.  
"Since now." Ivy rolled her eyes. "I was thinking that he needs a little payback because he's such an ass all the time. And if he doesn't go with me, he probably won't show at all, thus ruining our chances of a good prank. So, I just need an easy way to ask him out."

Finn's eyes widened. "You need to be my team mate more often, Ivy!"  
Hazel blinked. "I might go now."  
They watched as she got up and stared between them.

"You ruined her." Hazel waved a hand at Ivy, staring at Finn. "You broke her! She's evil now!"  
And with that, Hazel twisted and walked away, leaving the friends in a state of giggles.  
"I'm broken." Ivy laughed. "You dragged me into the pits of Hell."  
Finn beamed. "And it was my pleasure doing so!"  
"Yeah, thanks a lot!" Ivy calmed down. "Right, let's properly think about this, yeah?"

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed :)**  
 **Please feel free to leave a review x**


	15. Chapter 14 - Sarcastic Queen of Success

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

The bus arrived and waited for Dana and Ivy to clamber on. Ivy took a seat between Hazel and Finn, who both smiled in a friendly way, though there was a hint of mischievousness in Finn's green eyes. Dana sat beside Tyler and talked in a high-pitched voice about her dress and the way she had decorated the hall for the disco. Tyler nodded along and agreed to everything she said, whilst Ben glowered from a seat across from them.  
Ivy had always hated Tuesdays. She yawned and rubbed at her eyes, getting rid of sleep.  
"So," Finn winked. "Time for our plan, eh?"  
Hazel whipped around to face him. "Plan? Oh no. You really _have_ destroyed Ivy."  
"That happened ages ago," Ivy rolled her eyes. "And yes, I am prepared."

Ben perked up. "What're you doing? Can I chip in?"  
"Absolutely not." Finn shook his head. "This was Ivy's idea and she's going to go through with it."  
"Fine." Ben's shoulders sagged.

"Hey, Ben." Lionel interrupted. "We're going to play some football at break. Do you want to play? You can be a team captain, if you want."  
"Really?" Ben cheered up. "Sure thing!"  
Lionel grinned. "Great!"

* * *

Finn and Ivy peered around the corner of the corridor. "You ready?" Finn questioned.  
"Always ready." Ivy smiled. She followed Brent with her eyes - he was at his locker. "Right. Should I go now?"  
"Yep. Go, go, go!" Finn pushed her out into the open.

She continued forward, working herself up to do as the plan instructed. She placed a hand on the locker beside Brent and another hand on her hip, making sure that a charming smile danced on her lips. Brent closed the locker and jumped when he saw her.  
"What the heck?" He snapped. "Why are you here?"  
Ivy made the smile bigger. "I have a question for you."  
He narrowed his eyes. "What?"  
"I apologize about Science that time." She batted her eyelashes. "I was wondering if I could make it up to you?"

Brent raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "How?"  
"Do you have a date for the disco?" Ivy blurted.  
A light blush crept into his cheeks. "No. Why does that matter to you?"  
"You'll be the only one without a date." Ivy pointed out. "And someone may jump to conclusions. Or think that no one likes you. You may be teased or picked on-"

He was silent as he mulled it over. "Fine. Only for the disco."  
"Good." Ivy beamed and turned, scrambling to get back to Finn.

* * *

"How good was I?" Ivy asked, a twinkle in her eye. "I was good, right?"  
"Of course." Finn's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "You should be an actress."  
Ivy grinned. "Should I?"

He stared at her and shook his head. "You're meant to be the most sarcastic person alive. I'm disappointed."  
"But-" She paused. "Did I overwork it?"  
"Yes." Finn patted her on the back. "But it worked, so all is good."

* * *

The football went spiralling into the goal. Tyler lay on the ground, rubbing his arm, a look of annoyance on his face. He stood and waved his hands wildly. "What the heck?" He shouted. "Ass!"  
Lionel stuck his tongue out and did a victory dance in the middle of the field. "YOU LOSE." He screamed happily.  
Ben wrapped an arm around Lionel, in complete and utter joy. "HA!"

Cinder, Heather, Hazel and Dana were on a bench, their eyes narrowed against the little bit of sun that shone from the sky.  
Dana glanced between the bitter Tyler and the joyous Ben. She didn't know which one deserved her attention.  
"Boys." Hazel rolled her eyes and leaned back. "Finn is off on a mission with Ivy. I don't think the disco will go well. And I probably won't even spend time with Finn!"  
"Well." Cinder hummed. "This _is_ Finn we're talking about. Pranks mean more to him than food and girls combined."  
Hazel arched an eyebrow. "Thanks for the support."  
"Um." Cinder forced a smile. "He'll totally dance with you, for sure."  
"Too late." Hazel declared.  
The boys continued their game, whilst the girls discussed their dates, dresses and disco dilemmas.

Lionel glanced between Heather and Cinder. He wondered whether Cinder was upset about his decision to go with Heather to the disco. The ball sailed past his ear and he stirred, jumping forward in the direction of the ball.  
"Wake up!" Ben said, running as well.  
But it seemed that Lionel was still asleep, for a moment later, he was on the ground with Ben rubbing his forehead.  
Lionel's head and butt hurt.  
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Tyler dancing and laughing.

"Ow!" Ben sat up. "Watch where you're going!"  
Lionel chuckled nervously. "Sorry. It's the girls."  
"Wow, dude, not now." Ben shook his head quickly. "I'm not talking about this stuff with you."  
"No, not like that!" Lionel went a bright red. "I meant, I was wondering about whether Cinder was upset that I decided to go with Heather."

Ben chuckled as well. "Oh. That makes sense."  
Lionel ran a hand through his golden hair. "Girls are so odd."  
"I know." Ben shrugged. "They probably say the same thing about us."

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed! Have a great day!**  
 **(:;) (:;) (:;)**


	16. Chapter 15 - Disco Pt1

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

The hall was decorated in a black and red colour scheme and Ivy couldn't help but feel impressed. Dana may be annoying and whiny, but at least she knew how to decorate properly. Ivy tugged at the sleeves of the black dress she had chosen and itched at the lace. Her feet were sore from the shoes that Dana had picked out for her. And the makeup on her face made her feel weighed down.  
"Hey." Brent appeared and Ivy remembered that she had asked him to the disco. She cringed.  
"Hello." Ivy forced a smile. "You look... nice."  
Brent shrugged and picked at the hem of the suit he had put on. "Eh."

People started to flood in and Ivy spotted Hazel, alone. She perked up and spotted an opening to get away.  
"I'm sorry, Brent." She put as much sincerity into it as possible. "My friend needs me. I'll get back as soon as possible."  
Ivy rushed towards Hazel, throwing herself down beside her. Brent was swallowed up by the crowd.

"What are you doing here?" Hazel questioned.  
"You look a bit upset." Ivy paused and looked around. "Where's Finn?"  
Hazel blinked. "I thought he was with you."  
"No, he's not." Ivy froze. "Oh. The prank."

Hazel laughed with a roll of her eyes. "I should have known. He cares about pranks more than he cares about food and girls combined."  
"What?" Ivy tried to peer above the crowd. "What did you say?"  
"Never mind." Hazel sighed. "What are you doing?"  
Ivy had clambered onto the chair and was desperately looking for any sign of Brent or Finn.  
She couldn't see them.

* * *

"This is awesome." Lionel beamed as the lights danced and music filled his ears. "You having a good time, Heather?"  
The girl was grinning, elated, just like Lionel. "Yes! This is the best night _ever_!"  
They were dancing and their minds were only on the music and the joyous feeling rushing through their veins. It did seem like a perfect night. Jace had decided to stay at home - which Lionel was pleased about, because he didn't want his brother to get hurt.  
Lionel then noticed how nice Heather looked in the dark pink dress that she had chosen, and her hair wavy.  
He averted his eyes and looked around the hall. But his eyes landed on Cinder and he felt the happiness begin to drain from his veins.

Cinder was wearing a dark green dress that matched her eyes and her smoky brown hair. She was perched on a chair, talking to her sister, Poppy. Both girls seemed happy enough, but Lionel couldn't help the feeling that was jabbing at his heart.  
"Hello?" Lionel suddenly became aware that Heather was talking to him. "Lionel, wake up! Did you hear what I said?"  
"What? Sorry, I spaced out." Lionel confessed apologetically.  
Heather rolled her eyes. "I said, this is my favourite song."

Lionel focused on the music and smiled. "I like this song too. Shall we dance?"  
"Aren't we doing that already?" Heather laughed. "But, okay, sure."

* * *

Finn pushed back his red hair and straightened his tie. A grin had worked its way onto his face as he stood in the mirror. He looked towards a staging technician who he didn't know the name of and pointed dramatically. "Music - off."  
The guy turned the music off. "Done."  
"Dramatic music - on." Finn waited for the technician to do it. "Lights - off."  
He grinned at the screams of fear and shouts of annoyance. "Spotlight, now!"  
Then he took up his position at the entrance to the stage and made sure his tie was in the correct place. He set his shoulders back and rubbed his hands together.  
 _Tonight was going to be perfect.  
_  
"Spotlight. Now."

* * *

 **I hope you all enjoyed! Thanks for all of the views and reviews. It really means a lot :)  
Here are some virtual cookies:**

 **(::) (::) (::)**


	17. Chapter 16 - Disco Pt2

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

"It's your one and only-" The voice rang out and a spotlight danced. "The most amazing, super wonderful, exquisite and majestic-"  
Ivy's mouth fell open. She couldn't believe her eyes. She had been friends with Finn for a long, long time, but this was something entirely different.  
"-Finn Pevlone!" A synthetic audience cheered. "Thank you, thank you."

The red-haired teenager was on stage, the spotlight shining on him, dressed as some sort of magician. Ivy wanted to die of embarrassment as Hazel raised a wary eyebrow and she found that a lot of people had turned to look at her - she was Finn's friend, and that immediately meant that she was indirectly responsible for this prank outburst.  
"Oh no." She mumbled.  
Hazel gritted her teeth. "What's he going to do?"  
"I have no idea." Ivy chewed her lip. "But I'm guessing that it isn't going to be too good."

* * *

Lionel and Heather exchanged a look. This wasn't that far out of the realm of possibility when it came to Finn.  
"I'm just interested to know what he does." Heather whispered. "Hopefully, it's not all of that tea again. That ruined my outfit last time."  
Lionel nodded, though he wasn't listening.

Finn threw his arms wide and beamed at the crowd. "Right, for this to work, I need a volunteer."  
He looked around the group or teenagers and started to pace back and forth.  
"I need someone who will do this well." He scanned the crowd. "Hmm..."

Then he stopped and pointed. Everyone turned to look at the person who had been picked.  
"Brent. You can be my guest."  
Everyone was silent. From his viewpoint, Lionel could see the boy's face going a pale shade of red.  
"Well, come on up, then!" Finn beckoned him.

* * *

"No!" Ivy threw up her arms and groaned. "How did I know that he was going to do that?"  
She tapped her fingers against her elbow and Hazel rolled her eyes. "You went along with it."  
"I know, but-" Ivy sighed. "I'm kind of regretting this."  
"Why?" Hazel asked, curiously.  
Ivy didn't take her eyes off of Finn. "He's Finn Pevlone. He always blows it out of proportion. And then there's Brent... he'll figure it out and then I'll be a prime target! I'll have a huge red cross on my back - forever!"

Hazel cleared her throat. "You need to calm down."  
"What?" Ivy blurted. "How can I calm down, when-"  
"No." Hazel nudged her. "Finn's doing something. Just watch, yeah?"

Brent had reluctantly clambered on the stage and Finn was preparing himself for whatever magic trick he was going to attempt.  
"Right." His voice echoed. "We're going to start with something easy."  
He rubbed his hands together and grinned.  
"I need you, Brent, to hold out a hand." Finn instructed. "We're going to start with some palm reading."

The other boy held out a hand and Finn took it. Ivy wanted to sink into the ground as he started chanting odd things that made no sense, doing an odd shuffle as he did so. The whole room was waiting for whatever Finn was going to do. They knew better than to think that this was it.  
"Huh." Finn stopped the chanting. "Right, okay."  
Brent cleared his throat. "What- what is it?"  
"I see here-" Finn held the hand at length. "Oh- that isn't very good, is it?"

"What is it?" Brent asked. "Could you maybe tell me? So we can get this over with?"  
"Oh, no, my kind sir." Finn shook his head. "We can't rush the power of palm reading."  
Brent swallowed nervously. "Okay. Just do what you have to do."

"It looks like-" Finn paused. "It seems that something terrible might happen tonight. Something- oh no - something is going to fall tonight! And you are going to suffer a horrible loss. Perhaps you might lose someone.. no, something.. and you are going to suffer terribly."  
Brent started to look as if he were taking Finn seriously.  
"My dear Brent.." Finn raised his eyes and turned to the crowd. "GO!" He screamed.

Brent raised his eyebrows and scrambled from the stage but as he got away, something unwound from the ceiling. The crowd began to snigger and laugh. The boy had stopped in his tracks.  
Ivy clasped a hand to her mouth and was torn between laughing too or slapping Finn.

 _ **"YOU ARE DUMPED. HAVE A GREAT NIGHT. SEEYA XOX."**_

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed!  
If you did, please feel free to leave a review :3  
Have a good day x**


	18. Chapter 17 - The Disco (Aftermath)

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**

The crowd roared with laughter. Brent's face went through varied emotions - embarrassment, fear and finally anger. He worked in a circle until his gaze rested on Ivy. Suddenly, the happiness of seeing her "nemesis" being the target of Finn's pranks faded and she was left staring into the face of said person, who looked like he might actually kill her.  
Ivy's stomach twisted. The prank wasn't so funny anymore.  
Finn looked incredibly happy with himself.  
Now Ivy really wanted to punch him.

"Ouch." Hazel mumbled beside her. "That must suck. Funny though."  
Ivy nodded numbly. "He thinks I did it."  
"Well..." Hazel shrugged. "Don't tell me you weren't planning to do something to Brent."  
"No, we were." Ivy paused. "But Finn plans all of the pranks. I just said that I didn't mind."  
Hazel arched an eyebrow. "Taking that back now?"  
"Yep."

Brent glowered for a few more minutes - looking between Finn and Ivy - before he scrambled away from the crowd in a cloud of humiliation. The disco had been alright up until those moments where Ivy had been looking right into that boy's eyes. She hadn't liked what she had seen.  
Ivy flashed one glance to Finn, shook her head, and left through a different exit.

* * *

Most of the people had left. Ivy and Hazel being the only ones from their "friendship" group. Finn had been grinning at his creation as the crowd dispersed and the mood had changed drastically. Lionel felt oddly sorry for Brent. Public humiliation? Wasn't very nice.  
Heather yawned. "That was a dramatic end to the night."  
"Yeah." Lionel agreed. "Do you think Ivy had something to do with it?"  
"What?" Heather said, uninterested.  
The boy scratched the back of his neck. "Ivy left almost immediately. I thought she may have had something to do with it."  
"Who cares?" Heather asked. "It's Ivy. She doesn't like parties or anything social, for that matter."

Lionel nodded. The night was drawing close and everyone was grouchy. And this was Heather, so she was bound to be more grumpy than everyone else. He shrugged and looked around for Cinder. She was mumbling something to Poppy, who was nodding in agreement.  
"Wait a second." Lionel told Heather, and headed across the hall to where Cinder was. "Hey."  
Cinder smiled. "Hey. How are you?"  
"I'm good." Lionel pushed back his hair. "You?"  
"Same." She laughed. "Why are we being so awkward? How was the dancing with Heather?"

Glancing in the direction of said girl, Lionel shrugged. "It was about as good as it could be, I guess."  
"No stepping on toes, I hope?"  
"Thankfully not, no." Lionel laughed as well. He let himself relax. "Quite a show, huh?"  
Cinder grinned. "Can't expect any less from Finn, can we?"

They both looked to where the fiery haired boy was now sitting at the edge of the stage, speaking to Tyler and Dana and Ben.  
Finn noticed them looking and gestured the remaining members of their "group" to join them.  
"Right." He sat up straight. "What did you all think of the prank?"  
He received a murmur of recognition and praise.  
"Good!" Finn clapped his hands together. "Now, I urge you all to watch your backs. Brent will most likely be upset and he'll probably want to get his own back. So, if you ever find yourselves in a difficult situation or Brent has evened the score - call me."

* * *

Ivy buried her face in the pillow, breathing in the familiar scent and wanting to curl up and never wake up again. What had she done? She was confused at her own emotions. She wanted to prank Brent but she didn't know that Finn would do that - but the thing was, she did know he would do that. It was Finn. Of course he would do something like that. Where everyone else excelled in sport, a school subject or being socially inept, Finn excelled in pranks. It was his area of expertise.  
Now Brent would hate her even more.  
Was that was she had wanted?  
Ivy moaned quietly as she heard the front door close. Dana was back. Which meant...

"There you are!" Dana flung her bedroom door open. "Finn's prank was interesting."  
She sat on Ivy's bed and Ivy could almost feel the annoying smile radiating from her sister's face.  
"Oh, what's wrong?" Dana leaned forward. "You went out with Brent, right? I heard someone say that..."  
Ivy mumbled in recognition of that fact.  
"Well, you didn't really like him, did you?" Dana questioned. "He's a jerk."  
"Yeah." Ivy said in reply.

"Then why are you upset?" Dana asked. "If you didn't like him, then there's no point in being upset about the whole thing."  
Ivy exhaled slowly and turned to face her sister. "I don't like Brent. Of course not. But I'm confused."  
"Alright then." Dana nodded. "Why don't we talk it out?"  
"Um.." Ivy realized she didn't know how to talk to her sister. They had never done this before. "I wanted Finn to prank Brent but I didn't at the same time, because now Brent will probably hate me and do something even worse..."  
Dana blinked. "If he does something worse, then you've got me and Finn, and everyone else. We'll get him back."  
Ivy shifted uncomfortably and picked at her shirt. "That's nice, I guess. But then he'll hate all of you."  
"Who cares?" Dana shrugged. "We're sisters - and friends. Kicking other people's butts is our job."

Ivy laughed. This was entirely new. "Alright."  
Dana grinned. "Deal?"  
"Deal."

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed!  
Thanks so much to all of the reviews I've been getting. It means the world to me!  
So here are some cookies as a thank-you: (:;) (:;) (:;)  
And happy late Valentines Day as well!  
**


	19. Chapter 18 - Throwing Punches

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN**

Ivy and Finn walked shoulder-to-shoulder, having bonded a lot more since the prank. Finn had almost growled when they came within a few metres of Brent. Of course, Ivy didn't need a constant guard dog, but she was glad that she had her friend back. And it meant that she could get him to do whatever she wanted using the excuse, "Brent could be there/do something."  
The lead-up to the Family Legacy Day was hanging over their heads and so everyone in their "group" was preparing for the day. Notably, the after-party that awaited them.

"I don't think I'm allowed to do another prank." Finn pondered. "I should wait until December, right?"  
"Sure." Ivy shrugged. "I don't think my parents will let me go..."  
"Your mum loves me." Finn pointed out. "I can persuade her to let you do anything."  
Ivy paused. "Even drugs?"  
"No, Stars, no." Finn shook his head quickly. "If you ever do that, I will personally strangle you."  
"Thanks a lot." Ivy rolled her eyes. "But good call. Do that if I go crazy."

"Got it." Finn winked and as they turned a corner, Dana and Hazel appeared. He ducked his head. "Tell them I'm not here."  
"Why?" Ivy stared at him.  
Finn scratched his head. "Me and Hazel had an argument after the disco. She wanted me to do date-things. You know, dancing?"  
"Oh." Ivy glanced between him and Hazel. "Maybe I should talk to her? You're Finn, of course you don't want to date."  
"I love how my excuses always go a little something like, 'well, he's Finn'." Finn laughed. "And, sure."

Ivy nodded and when she turned back around, Finn had disappeared. "I didn't think a girl would be enough to scare him off." She mused.  
Dana and Hazel both waved her over, and she jogged towards them. Dana patted a Legacy Day poster. "I forgot to say thank-you for putting these up."  
"No problem." Ivy waved a hand.  
"So, we've got things to prepare." Dana hummed. "Like outfits."  
Ivy smiled nervously. "I know we're getting along now and everything, but not well enough to get me to go clothes shopping again."  
"Oh..." Dana pleaded. "Come on!"

"No." Ivy shook her head, smiling. "Sorry."  
Hazel glanced around. "Hey, where's your personal bodyguard?"  
"Finn?" Ivy shrugged. "He disappeared-"  
"When he saw me coming?" Hazel said bitterly. "Figures."

"This _is_ Finn we're talking about." Ivy pointed out. "You can't expect him to do all that dancing stuff."  
Hazel nodded. "I know, but he hardly pays attention to me."  
"He's never had a girlfriend or anything." Ivy explained. "He doesn't even know what a crush is. Unless you count that one time he was in love with whipped cream because he liked putting it on people when they slept-"  
"So, he doesn't actually even like me?" Hazel's voice went slightly high-pitched. "Gee, thanks."  
The girl turned and stormed away.

"What was I meant to say?" Ivy flapped her arms. "That Finn was head-over-heels in love with her?"  
Dana pushed a strand of hair behind an ear. "Maybe he should have told her himself."  
"Well," Ivy bit her lip. "He's Finn. He's not good with women."

* * *

The History class was incredibly boring. Finn's eyelids had started to droop. The clock was almost hypnotising. _Tick, tock, tick, tock.  
_ The end of class was only five minutes away but it felt like forever, as the teacher droned on about family legacy this and family legacy that. Hardly anyone wanted to listen and he could just make out the sound of Lionel snoring in the back of the classroom (he had got bagged the Sleepy Seat - known by that name because the teacher never looked in that corner of the room and it was right next to the radiator, so it was warm and very easy to drift into sleep). _  
_

The clock rang and Finn automatically stood and grabbed his bag, leaving the classroom. The students filed in different directions - some going to the Common Room, others going to the cafeteria and others heading to their lockers. Finn was part of the latter population. He put some of his books back in his locker (the Legacy ones, that is - he didn't care about those books). A noise grabbed his attention.

Brent had Jace backed up against a set of lockers. The black haired boy was almost snarling, eyes narrowed. "Watch where you're going." He laughed at the irony.  
Finn puffed his chest out. _No one hurts his friends!_ With that thought ringing in his head, Finn stormed forward and came up close to Brent. "Get away from him and don't you dare speak like that to Jace."  
"Or what?" Brent turned his attention to Finn. "What will you do, Ginger?"  
Finn felt his face go hot. "Don't... you... _dare_.. call me..."  
" _GINGER_." He swung his fist out at Brent.

His fist connected with the other boy's face. His hand cried out in pain.  
Brent's eyes were now glowering. The boy leapt at Finn and knocked him to the ground. They tussled and wrestled for a good few minutes, with a roar of an excited crowd urging them on.  
Mr Stellar appeared from a classroom and trudged towards them, picking Brent up and holding him back. "UP. STOP."  
The crowd's cries resigned to a murmur.  
"TO MR HEAVERNS OFFICE RIGHT THIS INSTANT."

* * *

 **Thank you for reading!  
Ps. I don't condone violence.  
And I feel really bad about both Jace and Finn.  
And Hazel too because seriously Finn?  
**

 **Anyway, thanks for all the reviews!  
(:;) (:;) (:;)**


	20. Chapter 19 - For Heavern's Sake

**CHAPTER NINETEEN**

Isla Pevlone got called to the office during her English class. She had been having a great time, talking to Honey and half-hearing what the teacher was saying. And then someone from the office came in and stared straight at her. "Miss Pevlone, please go to Mr Heaverns office."  
The rest of the class turned to look at Isla. Hardly anyone got called to his office unless something serious had happened. As she made her way there, she thought about all the possible reasons why. And her mind immediately landed on Finn, her brother.  
What had he done this time?

Ivy Falleh was called during a History quiz and she breathed a sigh of relief. But then she realized that it wasn't a good thing. Either she was being punished for the fire, her sister had done something (unlikely) or it was Finn. Ivy gritted her teeth and opened the door of the office.

Lionel Carter was in Sports, being jumped on by Tyler and Ben. They had just one a match of rugby. And then someone waved Lionel over and asked him to go to the office. His stomach turned inside out and he decided it must have something to do with Jace. Which made him even more sick.

* * *

"WHAT THE-" Ivy, Isla and Lionel exclaimed at the same time as they pushed into the office. They looked between Finn, Brent and Jace. Brent was holding an ice pack on his eye, Finn was cradling his hand and Jace had sunk into the chair.

Mr Heavern stood up and pressed his knuckles into the table. "Let me explain this and attempt to understand this. Brent targeted Jace in a non-violent way and Finn, you what? Decided to intervene and cause a fight?"  
"He deserves it." Finn protested. "He's been targeting us for years and I couldn't let him take it out on Jace."  
"Because I'm blind?" Jace snapped.  
"No arguing." Mr Heavern gestured to the door. "Isla, Ivy and Lionel, you can wait outside."

* * *

"I can't believe him!" Ivy crossed her arms and leaned against the wall.  
"I thought we were meant to stay away." Lionel pointed out. "I know he was sticking up for Jace but he isn't going to like it."  
"Why?" Ivy asked.  
Lionel pushed a hand through his hair. "He thinks he can look after himself."

"Guys?" Isla interrupted. "I'm here because Finn is my brother and I have a duty as a member of the family. Lionel is here for the same thing. Ivy is here because she's friends with Finn."  
Lionel turned. "And your point is?"  
"No one is here for Brent." Isla looked at the office door.  
"You're saying he's just understood?" Ivy laughed. "That's the most cliché thing ever. He's hurt us more than I can count. I'm not going to be his guardian angel. Finn has disappointed me but he's right. Brent deserved it."

"I don't know." Lionel seemed conflicted. "I think he has family issues."  
"Don't we all?" Ivy pointed out.  
He shook his head. "I think it's a bit worse than your mini-war with Dana."  
"We shouldn't discuss it." Isla decided. "I think Mr Heavern is finishing up in there."

* * *

The office door opened. Mr Heavern ushered Jace from the office and lead Lionel away, so that they could discuss it. In the office, Finn and Brent glowered at each other. Ivy and Isla were left together.  
"He's an idiot." Ivy rolled her eyes. "But I didn't think he would punch Brent. Maybe a cruel prank but not this."  
"He's unpredictable." Isla said.

Mr Heavern came back and glanced in at the office. "There are several punishments that the school can offer. Would you like me to list them?"  
They both nodded.  
"Suspension and expulsion are the most severe punishments," He paused. "And since this is a first violent offense, it may be overstepping the boundaries to expel them. Some other punishments include isolation or a long period of time spent in detention."

Isla and Ivy exchanged a look.  
"I think detention will do." Ivy decided. "How long?"  
"Thirty minutes after school every day for the next two weeks." Mr Heavern explained. "Or, ultimately, three hundred minutes - five hours."  
Ivy nodded. "I think that sounds good. Isla?"  
Isla shrugged. "Sure."

"I'll go and explain it to them. You two can head back to class. Don't make this public until I have explained it to both of them and spoken to my senior members of staff. Have a good day and I'm sorry for the inconveniences that this has caused." Mr Heavern turned and went back into the office, closing the door behind him.  
They both headed back to their classes, mulling over what had happened.

* * *

"What happened?" Leah pestered. She had been wanting to know since Jace hadn't turned up for class.  
He took a seat and didn't move.  
"Come on!" Leah crossed her arms. "I'm your family, you have to tell me."  
"Fine." Jace scratched at the wood of the desk. "Brent pushed me into a locker.. and then Finn came and punched him. Then we all ended up in Mr Heavern's office."

Leah went quiet. She walked forward and kneeled at the desk. "You can talk to me about anything, you know that, right? Anything at all."  
"I know that but it doesn't mean I have to do it." Jace snapped.  
"I'm sorry." Leah retreated and then remembered something. "Someone new is the joining our class tomorrow."

Jace huffed. "Oh."  
"You might know her." Leah paused. "Briar Stellar?"  
"Ben's sister? The other one?" Jace shrugged. "Alright."  
Leah gritted her teeth. "At least be kind to her. She's been through a lot."  
"And, of course, I haven't." Jace replied dryly.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!  
Here are some cookies: (:;) (:;)  
Hope you have a splendid day!  
**


	21. Chapter 20 - Preparation

**CHAPTER TWENTY**

The preparations for November 8th were fully under way. You couldn't go anywhere without seeing Legacy Day posters strewn all over the walls. Dana spent her breaks in the gym, rehearsing with the Spirit Squad. Finn was almost permanently in detention. No one had seen Brent since the little accident but they knew he was around. Just steering clear of their toxic group, apparently. Hazel was ignoring Finn - not that he noticed it was a real issue.  
Hazel was in the gym, tiredly watching Dana rehearse. She sipped at the thermos she had in her hands. Maths had gone alright that morning but they had an English exam later that afternoon. Revision wasn't her main priority at the moment; staying awake was.

"Hey," Blossom perched on the edge of the seats. "What's going on?"  
Hazel yawned. "I honestly have no idea. You tell me."  
"They're doing a routine?" Blossom narrowed her eyes. "One of those pyramid things? Where they stand on each other?"  
"Sounds cool." Yawn. "Do you have any more coffee?"

Blossom arched an eyebrow. "Did you get _any_ sleep?"  
"Not really." Hazel rubbed her eyes.  
"Why?" The other girl inquired.  
Hazel shrugged. "Just wasn't feeling in the mood to sleep."  
"Since when does anyone not want to sleep?" Blossom pointed at herself. "I'm not the most stable person out there, but seriously? Even I want to sleep."

Dana had stopped what she was doing. She smiled at Blossom and then waved her arms in an exaggerated manner. "She's right, Hay! You stole all my coffee this morning! You need to get your act together, girl, before I make you sleep."  
"I'll sleep later." Hazel waved a hand. "Not here."  
Blossom rolled her eyes. "Have a power nap. I'm sure the teachers will understand."  
"Not Miss Cloud." Hazel pointed out and yawned. "She'd have my head."

* * *

Ivy stared at Finn as he waltzed into the Common Room. She had propped her feet on a table and was leaning back on one of the sofas. Finn took a seat beside her. "Hey, hey, hey." He grinned. "What's that look for?"  
"You've burdened me with a heartbroken Hazel."  
Finn blinked. "A what?"  
"You haven't spoken to Hazel in ages." Ivy glowered. "You'd better say something to her or else I will punch you."

"She doesn't seem to upset." Finn shrugged. "And I didn't break her heart. She knows that I'm-"  
Ivy waited. "You're-"  
"I'm-" Finn rolled his eyes and threw his arms in the air. "Well, I'm _me_!"

Finn had never been particularly talented at winning over girls. He had never really had a crush. Pranks were his life and dating had a 5% importance value. So, he didn't fully understand why Hazel was acting so rudely - surely she knew that he wasn't one of the guys who spent every waking second trying to pick out which girl he'd go on a date with next?  
"Just say something. Anything!" Ivy begged dramatically. "I only managed to pry her away from me by giving her to my sister! Make it stop..."  
She fake-cried in a theatrical sense and Finn was thoroughly amused.  
"Well, alright-" Finn waved a finger and Ivy's smile faded. "-Only if you do something for me."

* * *

Lionel and Ben tapped their pens on the table, in time. They smirked and glanced at each other from the corner of their eyes. Miss Cloud was a step-in teacher for that English lesson and she stared with eagle-eyes at each student in turn. She set a timer and pointed at it.  
"1 hour." Then she pressed a button and the clock started. "Begin."  
Lionel flipped open the English exam and felt his cocky grin start to fall. It wasn't as easy as he had been expecting. Suddenly, this wasn't sports and he wasn't the best man on the field. He was that poor kid falling behind or getting kicked in the face.  
And now he felt incredibly bad for whichever boy he hit that morning.

Ben wasn't having much luck either. He wished that he had revised last night but he had spent too much time listening to Dana talk over the phone, to him. He could hardly concentrate on the exam - all he could hear was Dana's lovely voice. Ben stared at the clock and watched each second tick by, painfully slow. He flicked through the pages and then sighed. He was so going to fail.

Then there was Hazel. She tried her very best to focus on the exam. But the first question made her brain ache. The long night was finally catching up to her and she yawned loudly. The tapping of pens was lulling her into a deep sleep.  
She fell forward and began to sleep in the middle of her English exam.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed!  
Legacy Day will be chapter twenty two!  
Please leave a review :)  
Have a good day!  
**

 **(:;) (:;) (:;)**


	22. Chapter 21 - Legacy Day on the Horizon

**CHAPTER TWENTY ONE**

Hazel found herself surrounded by a crowd of people, screaming her name. They started to violently push her and with each push, the pain grew worse. She cried out and pushed back.

"Hazel! Wake up!" Suddenly, she found herself shooting awake. Miss Cloud was glowering with crossed arms. The rest of the class stared at her.  
Hazel tucked a strand of hair behind an ear and straightened her clothes, conscious of everyone's prying eyes.  
"Sorry, miss." Hazel caught the eyes of Lionel and Ben. "I-"  
"You can re-do your exam after school." Miss Cloud told her dryly.  
"Yes, miss." Hazel felt red flood to her cheeks.

* * *

The blind boy was starting to fall into a deep sleep when his headphones were pried off and the biography he was listening to with it. Aunt Leah smiled.  
"I have a surprise." She said. "Right, if you just move here-"  
"Is this something that I'll actually care about?" Jace asked impatiently.  
"Well, you should care about.. it." Leah disappeared for a moment.

Jace waited. He could hear footsteps - not just one pair, but two.  
"This is Briar!" Leah clapped her hands. "Briar, this is Jace. Jace, Briar."  
There was silence. "Hello, Jace."  
"Hey." Jace shifted awkwardly. "So?"

"Oh." Leah scratched her neck. "You two will be working together for now on. With me, of course."  
Jace forced a smile. "Great."  
"Okay." Briar replied.  
"Awesome! Lovely." Leah clapped her hands together again. "Let's get to it, then."

* * *

"This dress looks okay, right?" Dana whirled around in the angelic-white dress. It was decorated with pink flowers. "Honest."  
Ivy pulled her knees closer to her chest. "Anything I've got to say is not what you want to hear."  
"But- on me." Dana smiled. "Does it look nice on me?"  
"Yes." Ivy shrugged. "I guess. I don't know."  
Dana sighed. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Do I need a dress?" Ivy paused. "No, wait - I already know the answer."  
Dana flashed a shark's grin. "Let's take a little look..."  
A moment later, Dana appeared with a midnight blue dress and she was beaming.  
"Perfect, right?" She gestured for Ivy to stand up. "Now go and try this on."

Ivy forced herself into the dress and took a look at herself in the mirror. She didn't look too bad, as a matter of fact.  
"Wow." Dana clapped her hands together in excitement. "You look stunning! Now, we need an accessory..."  
Soon, Ivy was in her dress and had a necklace fastened around her neck.  
"This necklace is gorgeous." Dana praised. "And so is that dress. You should wear dresses more often."

* * *

Everyone was pulling up outside the school, where the Legacy Day was taking place. Ivy and Dana stepped out of the family car. Ivy tugged at her dress and Dana stood on tiptoes, searching for familiar faces in the crowd. Hazel, Heather and Cinder were huddled together. Finn was nowhere to be seen, as expected. Lionel and Jace were in suits and they tugged at their ties. Ben caught sight of Dana and hurried over. Then there was Brent, who caught everyone's attention - in a suit, followed by his parents, flashing a dangerous glare in their direction.

* * *

 **Hello! I hope you enjoyed this chapter :)  
The proper Legacy Day chapter will be in the next chapter and it will span several chapters, altogether.  
Hope you have a great day!**


	23. Chapter 22 - Awards at Legacy Day

**CHAPTER TWENTY TWO**

Ben had spent that entire afternoon glowering at the suit his mother had produced. It was black and there had been a hole in one of the arms, so he had thrown the suit to Briar and begged her to sew it up for him. Once she had finished, they had all rushed to the school, to attend Legacy Day. Blossom had been forced into a black dress (their mother had wanted her to wear something colourful, but a black dress was as far as Blossom would go) and Briar was in a navy blue dress.  
When they pulled up, Ben had scrambled from the car as fast as his legs could carry him, leaving Blossom to trail behind and his mother to help Briar. He pushed through a crowd of people and searched for Dana or Fin or Lionel - someone!

Finally, he found Dana beside Ivy and hurried over. His grinned.  
"Hey, what's-" He came to an awkward stop and turned, following the intent gaze that both Dana and Ivy held.  
There was Brent Ferguson with his parents.

* * *

"If this wasn't Legacy Day, I'd say he'd want to kill us." Ben mumbled.  
"I think he wants to kill us, regardless of whether it's Legacy Day or not." Ivy pointed out. "Where's Jace?"  
Ben shrugged. "I think I saw him with Lionel but I didn't stop to talk to him."

The group slowly started moving forward until they managed to find Lionel and Jace. Then Blossom, Cinder, Hazel and Heather joined them. The group trailed after the adults and into the hall. Ivy remembered what happened at the Disco and shivered.  
Mr. Heavern had clambered onto the stage and was tapping his microphone. Adults filed in and took seats, and the students did the same.  
Lionel and Jace hovered beside their parents, who waved them over to some seats near the stage, which faced the crowd. It was easy to tell that neither boy liked the arrangement - they constantly tugged at their ties and shuffled their feet.

"Hello, everyone, and welcome to Legacy Day!" Mr. Heavern waved away the applause. "As always, I'll begin by reading out a part of the history textbooks and giving some background on our families..."  
He continued. "Many years ago, our town was founded by several families that would soon shape the future of the town and generations to come. The families built this very school to educate and protect our young people. Since then, we have organized Legacy Days - to remember the families that influenced the future and the living proof of said families. One such family is the Carters, so without further ado, I am pleased to welcome Deputy Brendon Carter."

The father of the Carter family stood up and took to the stage. He grinned at the assembled group.  
"Hello, hello. I am Deputy Brendon Carter and I am part of this town's police force. I have worked tirelessly to make sure that our young people are safe and in the best place possible. My own sons attend this school." He glanced to Lionel and Jace. "And I think that I am doing an alright job at that. There is still so much more to be done, but I find that it's good to reflect on how far we have come, by organizing a day such as this."  
He stepped back and sat back down.

* * *

"Now we will have our awards ceremony." Mr. Heavern produced the certificates and smiled. "First up, we have an award for sporting success. For this award... Lionel Carter!"  
The boy scrambled up the steps and onto the stage, accepting the award with a grin. The headteacher passed him the microphone with an encouraging expression. Lionel tapped the microphone and faced the audience. "Uh, hello. I'm Lionel - of course - and this is quite a big surprise. I'm not sure what I should be saying so I guess I'll just thank some people. Thanks to my dad for motivating me to tryout for the rugby team, thanks to my mum for always making me the best meals, thanks to my brother for being awesome and to all of my friends for being epic. Thank you, everyone, and I hope you have an awesome night!"

Mr. Heavern took back the microphone. "Next we have an award for Maths. The winner of this award is.. Finn Pevlone? How on- I mean, congrats to Finn!"  
He paused awkwardly and narrowed his eyes at the crowd. "Finn? Finn Pevlone? Are you here?"

"Blasted kid." Ivy overheard Miss Cloud grumble from her place beside Brent.  
Mr. Heavern shook his head and continued. "Right, now for our Science award. This award is being given to a pair and they are..."  
His face fell slightly. "Brent Ferguson and Ivy Falleh."  
The hall went silent and the parents that had no idea what had happened turned to face the two students, confusion written all over their features. More confused was Ivy, who pressed her back to her seat. She glanced towards Brent, who was looking between his parents and .  
"Brent? Ivy? I have your award here." Mr. Heavern waved them to the front.

Ivy hovered beside Brent, her hands shaking slightly. How in the world had they ended up getting an award when all they had succeeded in doing was setting the classroom on fire? Ever since that day, they had worked in complete silence. It was most definitely not good partnership.  
Mr. Heavern stared at Ivy. "Would you like to say a few words?"  
"What?" She paused. "Oh, yes. I-I'm Ivy Falleh. I would like to say thank you to my parents and my sister. Dana may be the complete opposite to me but she's the best sister I could ask for. Thank you for choosing this dress for me. If I didn't have you around, I would probably end up looking like a granny. Anyway, I would also like to thank my friends. Finn, mostly. I know he's not here because he told me that - he thinks this day is a lot of BS - but I'd like to thank him for always being my best friend and doing the best pranks. Thanks, everyone."

Ivy found herself rambling and came to a stop. looked to Brent. "Brent?"  
The boy cleared his throat. "Uh, yes. Thank you, everyone."  
Mr. Heavern waited but the boy didn't say any more. "Alright, then. You two can both go and sit down again."

* * *

By the end of the award ceremony, Jace had received an award for medical intuition; Cinder had received an award in History; Blossom had gotten an award for English and Heather had gotten an award for health and beauty.  
Ivy still had no idea why she had gotten the partnership award with Brent.

* * *

 **Thanks so much for reading!  
I hope you all have a very good day!  
Cookies! (:;) (:;) (:;)  
StarcrossedIvy x**


	24. Chapter 23 - Voices in the Dark

**CHAPTER TWENTY THREE**

Legacy Day ended for the students (the adults discussed matters after the awards ceremony had ended) so they headed away from the hall, to the spot where they would have the After Party. The night had started to fall and the half-moon was rising in the sky.  
Ivy walked beside Dana, and narrowed her eyes at the certificate.  
"Do you think someone did this?" Ivy chewed her lip. "There's no way I could have gotten this without someone wanting me to!"  
"You're crazy." Dana rolled her eyes. "You got an award! Be happy!"  
Ivy scowled. "But-"

"Come on." Heather appeared beside Ivy. "If someone did do it, then we need to narrow it down, right?"  
"Yeah." Ivy paused. "Who do you think?"  
Heather scratched her head. "Finn?"  
"No." Ivy shook her head. "He knows that I hate Brent and he does too."

"Stop filling her head with conspiracy theories." Cinder rolled her eyes. "Ivy, you got an award. Just focus on that and not for what its for."  
Ivy nodded. "Alright, you do have a point."

* * *

Finn met them just as they were about to enter the little woodland area, where they would have the After Party.  
"Hey." He scratched his neck. "What happened?"  
Ivy waved her certificate in his face. "I got an award. But Brent got the same one; we got it for being partners in Science."  
"But you two set the classroom on fire." He raised an eyebrow. "How did that happen?"

"I don't know." Ivy shook her head and walked beside Finn. "All I know is that I'm going to try and enjoy myself and not think about someone meddling with the awards. Oh, and you got one."  
"Did I?" Finn grinned and sniggered. "Figures, huh?"  
Ivy stared at him. "You managed to get yourself a Maths award?"  
"Yep." He puffed his chest out proudly. "I'm epic like that."

Ivy playfully punched him in the arm. "Don't get cocky."  
"That hurt." Finn pouted.  
"Baby." Ivy sniggered.

* * *

"I hate being blind sometimes, you know? It makes me different but sometimes being different makes you feel like an outcast. Feeling like an outcast is horrible. But then again, it means that some of my other senses are a lot better and people underestimate me - and it's great when I get to prove them wrong..."

Cinder comes to halt further ahead. "Jace? Isn't that Jace's voice?"  
Lionel glanced to his brother. "Jace? What's going on? Why..."  
"That's personal." His voice cracks slightly. "Who did this? Finn?"

"What?" Finn finds everyone focused on him. "What did I apparently do?"  
Ivy points in the air, waiting for Jace's voice to start again. "Did you do that?"  
"No." Finn shakes his head. "I swear I didn't. I think I would remember doing it."

Lionel crossed his arms. "You were the only one out here."  
"Yeah, but I wasn't in this area." Finn points out. "And why would I even want to prank Jace? I got beat up for him, unless you had forgotten."  
"You have a funny way of showing your affection for someone." Hazel grumbled.

The voice was carried away in the wind and Ivy held her arms close to her body. Bushes rustled nearby and she sought out the source of the sound.  
"Guys, what's that?" Ivy pointed in the direction.  
"A mountain lion?" Dana hissed.  
Ivy rolled her eyes. "Dana, we don't get mountain lions."  
"Then what is it?"

"Less of an 'it' and more of a 'he'." Lionel had disappeared in the bushes and then dragged out a familiar face. Brent.  
The boy kicked and squirmed, trying to get away, but Lionel pushed him against a tree, holding him still.  
"Did you do this?" Lionel demanded. "Did you think it would be a good idea to target my brother again? I swear-"

Cinder rushed forward and grabbed Lionel's arm. "Hey, slow down. We don't know if it was him for sure."  
"I didn't do it." Brent blurted. "I don't even know what you're talking about."  
Lionel gestured at the boy, staring at Cinder. "How do we know he's even telling the truth?"  
"We'll know, Lionel." Cinder reassured him and forcefully stared at the other boy. "We'll know."

* * *

 **Thanks so much for reading!  
So, my Easter holidays are here which means I have two weeks off. I'm going to try and update as much as I can.  
I'm going to try and write at least five chapters per week, which will be about ten chapters all together. Hopefully!  
Not all in one day, though, haha.  
**

 **I hope you have a good day!  
(:;) (:;) (:;) **


	25. Chapter 24 - Party Time

**CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR  
** The night's former energy had now become withdrawn. They had started a small fire with some logs set up around it. Finn and Ivy sat on one log. Dana, Ben and Tyler on another. Ivy had spent the time wondering who had decided to prank Jace. Somehow, she found herself believing that it wasn't Brent. He may hate Jace and be a complete ass, but he wasn't smart enough to get his hands on Jace's personal belongings and then rig it up in the forest. Especially since he was there with her, collecting the award.

Lionel's eyes hadn't left Brent all night. The other boy was almost being held captive.  
"I hope we don't have to torture him for information." Dana shuddered.  
"I don't think Lionel would go that far." Ben pointed out.

Jace had become completely silent, hunched over on the log he shared with Lionel.  
"I hope he's okay." Cinder hummed to Heather.  
"I'm sure he is." Heather shrugged. "He doesn't want the sympathy."  
Cinder raised an eyebrow. "Are you a Jace Whisperer now?"  
"No, I just get where he's coming from." Heather snapped.

"Oh, you two need to shut up." Finn shouted from the other side of the fire. He was standing. "I get that tonight has been a bit weird but I guarantee that nothing of it was my fault. At least, not that I know of. I'm sorry, Jace, that someone decided to publically humiliate you. But being miserable is going to keep reminding us of it. Brent, stop looking like the black sheep of the lot and just suck up your asshole-ness, and try being a nice person. Just for tonight. Ivy, stand up right now and get the music out of my bag. Dana, no one is torturing anyone so you can stop being scared. Cinder and Heather, please try and get along for at least one damn night. Lionel stop looking like you want to attack everything that moves. This is meant to be a party, so let's bloody well make this a party."

Everyone was silent, staring in both awe and confusion at Finn. He looked pleased with himself.  
Ivy stiffly moved and grabbed Finn's phone, setting up some music and preparing to hit play.  
Finn waved his arms. "Come on, everybody! GET UP. Ivy, hit the play button."

* * *

"Well, this is weird." Cinder mumbled as she tried to relax by swaying in time to the music.  
Lionel nodded. "Yeah."  
"I second that." Heather appeared and forced a small smile. "Sorry for being a complete ass to you."  
"It's fine." Cinder shrugged. "I wasn't helping."  
Lionel smiled. "I never knew Finn was so good at speeches."

Ivy clapped her hands to the beat but refused to dance. Much to her horror, Dana had caught sight of her and moved through the crowd at a surprising speed, managing to pull Ivy to her feet before she could do anything about it. Before long, Ivy was dragged into the group of dancing teenagers.  
"Isn't this fun?" Dana asked, raising her voice above the music.  
"I guess." Ivy shrugged. "Not really my scene!"  
Dana rolled her eyes. "You're the one who wanted to go to a night club!"  
"Don't remind me!" Ivy laughed.

* * *

The party soon started to die down as the night grew on. Eventually, they turned off the music and put out the fire as their parents started to head back to the cars. As they walked, the buzz from their own little party had made them exhausted and they found their minds wandering.  
Ivy scratched her head. They still had no idea who had pranked Jace. Which meant that they were still out there.  
"Tired?" Finn asked. Even her was looking slightly dishevelled.  
Ivy nodded and yawned. "Yeah."

"At least we don't have school tomorrow. Weekend, whoop!" Finn waved his arms and yawned. "I might sleep the entire weekend."  
"Me too." Ivy found herself yawning again. "Dammit, stop yawning, Finn!"  
Finn grinned. "Ha."

Cinder walked up ahead next to Lionel. She bumped his shoulder. "Hey."  
"Ah, hey." Lionel smiled. "What's up?"  
"Not much." Cinder returned the smile. "Since it's the weekend, do you want to do something?"  
Lionel nodded. "Sure, like what?"  
"I don't know." Cinder paused. "Maybe go to the mall? We could grab some lunch or something like that."  
"That sounds nice." Lionel caught sight of his dad. "I've got to go. I'll text you."

* * *

"How was it?" Brendon asked as he pulled out of the parking lot.  
Lionel shrugged. "Alright."  
"Jace?" Brendon glanced at his other son.  
Jace tugged at his clothes. "Same as always."

Ivy said goodbye to Finn and stumbled back to her parent's car, falling into her seat. Dana sat beside her and yawned, which caused a rally of yawning to ensue. Their parents laughed and they headed home, with both daughters yawning and eventually drifting into a sleep in the back of the car.

"How was the party?" Briar whispered to Ben with a smile, so that their mother wouldn't hear.  
"It was eventful." Ben told her. "I'll tell you about it when we get home."  
Briar nodded. "Alright."

* * *

 **Hello!  
Here is Chapter 24. I know that I said I would update more but the universe decided to hate me and I got quite sick. On my Easter break as well. I would have done some writing but I just felt awful. I'm very sorry for the delay x  
But I am much better now so I'm going to try and write as much as I can in the few days I have left!  
Thanks so much for reading and I hope you have a good day!**

 **(:;) (:;) (:;)**


	26. Chapter 25 - Old Habits

**CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE  
** The alarm clock blared and Ivy whacked it multiple times until it stopped. She wanted to stay in bed forever but knew that if she stayed any longer, her mother would come in and drag her out of her bed. And she didn't want that. So, she slipped out of bed and stiffly got dressed.  
Dana was downstairs, making herself some breakfast.  
"I'm going bowling with Tyler and Ben today." Dana informed her.  
Ivy made a face. "Why both of them?"  
"Because they're both my friends?" Dana raised an eyebrow.  
"I don't think they see it that way." Ivy mumbled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dana asked, pausing in the middle of making her breakfast.  
"It means-" Ivy waved a hand. "-That you are leading them on and giving them the wrong ideas."  
Dana pressed her lips together and narrowed her eyes. "I thought we had finished with all this."  
"And so had I." Ivy shot back. "I finally thought you understood that Ben thought differently."  
"What do you mean?" Dana blinked.  
Ivy shook her head and headed for the door. "It doesn't matter."  
"Aren't you going to have breakfast?" Dana called, a slight hint of concern in her voice.  
"No." Ivy called back. "I'll have it at a café."

* * *

Lionel had woken up that morning to a very odd household. Brendon had gone to work early, which left Lionel with his mother and his brother. Jace was still quiet after the whole incident in the woods - hadn't even tried to talk to Lionel about it - and Scarlet couldn't figure out what the problem was. And since he didn't want to get Scarlet involved where she wasn't wanted, Lionel decided to keep his mouth shut.

He spent the morning on the sofa, eating and watching the news. Then he grabbed hold of his phone and remembered what Cinder had suggested. He grinned.

 **Lionel: Hey!  
Cinder: Oh, heya :)  
Lionel: Do ya still want to meet up for lunch?  
Cinder: That would be lovely!  
Cinder: What time?  
Lionel: Maybe in a few hrs?  
Cinder: Sure. Where?  
Lionel: In the car park?  
Cinder: Alright!  
Cinder: See ya there!  
Lionel: You too!**

* * *

Heather was bored out of her mind. Hazel had family business, Blossom was busy helping Briar and she didn't want to get involved with Brent because he might be upset with her too, for hanging out with Lionel and the others. So, she grabbed her phone and decided to speak to someone she liked.

 **Heather: Hey hey hey  
Lionel: Hello!  
Heather: I really liked hanging out at the disco :)  
Lionel: Yeah, me 2.  
Heather: Would you like to hang out again?  
Heather: Today maybe?  
Lionel: Oh... um... I'm meeting up with Cinder.  
Heather: What? Why?  
Lionel: She's my friend and we don't spend time together very much...  
Heather: We hardly spend time together...?  
Lionel: Heather...  
Heather: I saw you staring at her the other night.  
Lionel: So what?  
Heather: So what am I to you.  
**  
Heather waited and waited. Lionel did not text back.

* * *

"I really need pancakes." Finn was almost drooling as another person walked passed with pancakes. He fidgeted in the queue.  
Ivy rolled her eyes. Her stomach rumbled and suddenly she regretted not getting breakfast at home.  
"By the sounds of it, you do too." Finn laughed.  
"Shut up." Ivy smacked him on the shoulder.

The line moved forward and soon enough the pancakes were in front of them and so was coffee. They started eating and Ivy was grinning like a lunatic.  
"What should we do after this?" Ivy asked.  
"Hm..." Finn leaned back in his chair and burped. "Park, maybe?"

"Yeah, sure." Ivy yawned.  
Finn arched an eyebrow. "Why didn't you eat at home?"  
"Why didn't you?" Ivy snapped.  
"Dude, I only came with you because it was pancakes and because you wanted to eat over here." Finn grinned.  
Ivy sighed and chewed her lip. "Me and Dana had an argument."

"Oh? About what?" Finn leaned forward, always interested by sister drama.  
"Tyler and Ben." Ivy groaned. "She still doesn't get it."  
Finn laughed quietly. "Oh, wow, that must suck."  
"Yeah." Ivy shrugged. "Hopefully, they'll make it clear to her at some point."

* * *

 **Thanks so much for reading!  
Here are some cookies: (:;) (:;) (:;)  
**


	27. Chapter 26 - Day Out

**CHAPTER TWENTY SIX  
** The park was full of beautiful flowers and the sun was a big ball of fire in the sky. Ivy and Finn walked side-by-side. Ivy sometimes felt like if she turned around for five seconds, Finn would be gone - he was like a toddler. She made sure that he was close at all times, just in case.  
"In a little while, you'll be holding my hand." Finn rolled his eyes when Ivy pulled him away from the edge of the pond.  
Ivy shivered. "Ew. No."

"Hey, look, ice cream!" Finn pointed wildly in the direction behind Ivy.  
Ivy whirled around and shaded her eyes from the sun. She couldn't see it.  
"Finn? I can't see it. Where is-" She turned back around and her friend had disappeared. "What? Finn!"

She kept walking, waving her hands desperately and trying to find him. "FINN! FINN PEVLONE? COME BACK!"  
Ivy wandered off the main path and through the grassy bit, thinking that he may have gone to hide behind a tree. Up ahead, she caught sight of someone - obviously male, but she couldn't see his face. Her heart leapt - Finn!  
"THERE YOU ARE?!" Ivy screamed. "FINN!"

Someone grabbed her from behind and she let out a scream, jabbing them in the chest with her elbow.  
"Hey!" Finn protested. "It's just me!"  
Ivy came to a stop and found herself becoming increasingly confused. "But-"  
She faced the direction that she had seen the figure.  
"Did you-" Ivy faltered. "Did you see that man over there?"

"What man?" Finn narrowed his eyes, looking in the direction she was pointing. "Ivy, there's no one there."  
Ivy chewed her lip. "There _was_ someone there."  
"Alright, I believe you." He didn't look convinced. "But maybe we should go. You know - creepy dude watching us from behind trees. Might be a bit concerning, don't you think?"  
"Yeah." Ivy shrugged. "It probably was just my imagination. Let's go."

* * *

The blonde-haired boy waited in the car park and grinned when he saw the familiar face of Cinder approaching. But as she got closer, he remembered the conversation he had had with Heather, and felt his stomach twist uncomfortably. They weren't exactly a couple, were they? And he just wanted to hang out with Cinder for once. It wasn't like he was going to propose to her or anything.  
"Hey!" Cinder was smiling too. "How are you?"  
Lionel flashed a smile that he hoped was convincing. "I'm fine. You?"  
"Pretty good myself..." She pushed hair out of her eyes. "Now let's get some food because I'm starving."

They found a small café and slipped inside, finding a comfortable seat to throw themselves down in. They both ordered coffee and some food, and waited for it to be made, talking about Legacy Day and general school problems (namely, homework). The food arrived and they started eating.  
"I wonder who pranked Jace." Cinder thought out loud.  
"Yeah..." Lionel's own mind wandered, but for once, he wasn't worrying about Jace.  
Cinder put down her fork and stared at him. "All you've said today was 'yeah' and 'no' and 'mmm'. What's up with you?"

Lionel blinked rapidly. "Nothing's wrong with me."  
"Well, then why aren't you listening to me?" Cinder asked. "You could at least say something else."  
"The weather's nice today." Lionel attempted.  
Cinder rolled her eyes and pushed her hair back. "No, just tell me how you're feeling. I want to know that you're alright."  
"I'm alright." Lionel grinned.

"No, you're thinking about something else." Cinder narrowed her eyes. "What are you thinking about? Honest."  
Lionel felt his cheeks become red and he fiddled with the buttons on his shirt. "It's nothing. Just stuff."  
"It's never 'just stuff', Lionel." Cinder persisted. "Come on, tell me."  
"Okay, fine. If you really want to know." Lionel breathed in. "I was thinking about Heather."

He waved his hands in the air. "No, no! Not like that."  
"Like what then?" Cinder tried to keep her temper in check.  
"Like..." Lionel tried to find a way to describe it. "We had a bit of an argument. I said I was hanging out with you and she wanted to hang out and I think she got a bit jealous and... I just don't want to have ruined our friendship."

"Is it just friendship?" Cinder asked quietly.  
"What?" Lionel blinked. "As far as I can tell, yeah."  
Cinder nodded. "Alright. Well, I'm finished. Do you want me to pay?"  
"No, I will." Lionel's eyes sparkled. "My treat."

* * *

"Dana!" Ben walked next to the girl as they entered the building. "How has your weekend been so far?"  
Dana shrugged. "Alright, I guess."  
"Where's my happy Dana?" Ben asked. "Are you okay? You can speak to me, if you want."  
"That's sweet." Dana gave a small smile. "Me and Ivy got into an argument."  
Ben tilted his head. "Oh. About what?"  
"It doesn't matter." Dana flicked a strand of hair. "Let's just have some fun, alright?"

They met Tyler inside and began to play the bowling tournament. Dana was having lots of fun - trying to decide which was her favourite colour and having to rely on the boys to help her lift it - but the boys found that the tournament was a lot more competitive, what with both of them there. When Dana wasn't looking, both would end up with a scowl and would flash each other annoyed glares.  
"Out the way." Tyler nudged Ben away from the lane and took up his place.  
Ben glowered. "Ass."  
"Right back at you." Tyler snapped and took a shot.

By the end of the tournament, they waited excitedly - and nervously - for the results. When they got it, the boys tried to smile but it faltered into confusion and shame for the fact that they were so busy thinking about their own little competition, that they didn't even consider Dana.  
It turns out that Dana won.  
She shrieked and laughed and hugged both of them.  
 _Both of them._

* * *

 **Hello!  
I hope you enjoyed Chapter 26! My Easter break is almost over (still got Monday) but then I'll have to go back to updating maybe every weekend, perhaps once or twice in the weekdays if you are lucky. That's education for ya.  
Thanks for all the support, it means a lot!  
Guest - I will be adding Halfmoon at some point, yes.  
**

 **Cookies!  
(:;) (:;) (:;)**


	28. Chapter 27 - Relationship Problems

**CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN  
** Most had been put off by Saturday's events and they all had family business on Sunday. When school arrived on Monday, everyone had some sort of anxiety. Whether it be about exams, the cold weather or friendship issues.  
Or, in Ivy's case; the man from the park.  
She hadn't gone back but she knew that she had seen someone.

Finn hadn't said anything either but she reckoned he wouldn't be too keen on going back there to search for a creepy dude in the park. So, Ivy had decided that she would go alone next weekend.  
Monday got off to a very awkward start.  
It had all seemed to return to normal, with Ivy and Dana at odds over Dana's boy troubles.

The bus wasn't any easier. Ivy threw herself down next to Finn and studied her friends. Heather had shoved herself next to Tyler, who was glowering at Ben. Ben was next to Dana and Lionel was awkwardly sat next to Jace. Cinder and Heather both glared at each other and Lionel. Hazel still wasn't happy with Finn, so she sat next to Cinder. Blossom was just as curious at the sudden change as Finn and Ivy were.  
They got off at the school and things didn't stop being awkward there.

* * *

"Why is everyone so... weird?" Blossom asked as she and Ivy hurried to Maths.  
Ivy shrugged. "I don't know. Lots of arguments."  
"Are you and Dana back at it again?" Blossom tried to find a way to hold her books properly.  
"Yeah." Ivy yawned. "It sucks."

They made it to Maths and found their seats - next to each other. Tyler was in their class, but he had put himself at the very back.  
"Tyler, Ben and Dana?" Blossom guessed. "A love triangle. Huh."  
"Dana doesn't realize." Ivy rolled her eyes. "I can't believe it. It's the most obvious thing ever."

"And Hazel is still bitter about the whole thing with Finn, I'm guessing." Blossom waved a finger in the air. "Oh, and Cinder said something about Lionel doing something which has caused Heather to be upset."  
Ivy nodded. "Sounds about right. Jace seems to be avoiding it."  
"Yeah right." Blossom laughed. "Have you forgotten about the After Party already? He's still not over that."  
"And we still haven't figured out who did it." Ivy mused. "We should look into that."

* * *

"I don't get girls." Lionel shook his head. "Why can't they tell me what they want instead of being so secretive all the time?"  
Jace pressed his lips together. "I don't even think _you_ know what you want."  
"Shut up." Lionel scratched his head. "What do you think Heather means?"  
"I'm not a Girl Whisperer." Jace deadpanned.  
Lionel rolled his eyes. "Well, there has got to be someone who knows something about girls."  
"Girl Theory." Jace suggested. "That should be a class they offer."

"Damn, you're smart." Lionel grinned. "That's a great idea."  
Jace nodded. "Maybe we should suggest it to the board."  
"Haha, you're awesome." Lionel headed to a table to eat his lunch. "Actually, should I do that?"  
"I would love to partake in that class-" Jace yawned. "But I doubt they'd actually implement it into the school curriculum."

* * *

"I hate boys." Heather grumbled miserably from her place beside Hazel.  
"Ugh. Me too." Hazel complained. "None of them understand."  
Ivy and Blossom sat down, both sporting yoghurts that they ate whilst curiously listening to the girls complain about their relationship problems.  
Heather sent a look in their direction. "I would ask you two, but your love lives are worse than mine and that's saying something."  
Blossom paused and put down her yoghurt. "At least I'm not an envious cow."  
Ivy saw the beginnings of a throw-down between Heather and Blossom (and as much as she'd have liked to seen it, she knew that it would end badly) so she interrupted. "Chill, guys."

Blossom went back to eating her yoghurt and Heather went back to complaining about Lionel.  
"He needs to make up his mind." Hazel agreed. "Finn also needs to grow up-"  
Now it was Ivy's turn to get defensive. "Come on , Hay. You know what Finn is like. He's just having fun."  
"Having fun toying with my emotions?" Hazel snapped.  
"It's Finn, for goodness' sake." Ivy rolled her eyes and waved the spoon around. "He's not good with women."  
Hazel sighed. "You could say that again."

Dana appeared and jogged towards them, throwing herself down on the other side of Blossom. "Hey, guys."  
Ivy went silent and Blossom spoke up for her. "Heya, Dana."  
"What's going on?" Dana asked.  
"Well, Heather is complaining about Lionel-" Blossom gestured to Hazel. "-And Hazel is complaining about Finn."

"Right..." Dana blinked. "And what are you two doing?"  
Blossom grinned sheepishly. "Eating these yoghurts and listening to them complain."  
Ivy threw the empty yoghurt in the bin and stood up. "I've got to go to music. See you."

* * *

Ben and Finn walked side-by-side, towards the sport hall. They were dressed in their sports uniforms and Finn was almost bouncing off the walls, hyped for basketball. "Geez, calm down." Ben yawned. "You're tiring me out."  
Finn scratched his neck. "Alright. What did you want to talk to me about?"  
"Dana." He looked around as if to make sure she wasn't close by. "Since you're a lot closer to the Falleh family-"

"How in the world am I closer to them?" Finn blinked rapidly.  
"You're basically joined at the hip with Ivy." Ben pointed out.  
Finn shrugged. "Valid. What about Dana?"  
Ben sighed. "Well, I really like her and everything and I think-"  
"Dude." Finn waved a finger. "You're not going to have this conversation with me."

Ben hurried after the red head. "What? Anyway, I think I might like her in that-"  
"No." Finn groaned. "I've never had a girlfriend. You do know this, right?"  
"What about Hazel?" Ben was quizzical.  
Finn paused. "What about Hazel?"

"Doesn't matter." Ben continued. "I don't think Dana has noticed and the other day-"  
"Oh blimey..." Finn closed his eyes.  
Ben rambled on. "-She took both me and Tyler bowling. Both of us. I don't know whether I should tell her or not because what if she doesn't like me? She might like Tyler and then I'll be humiliated and-"  
"SHUT UP." Finn whined. "Go speak to Lionel about this or something."

"Why can't I tell you?" Ben asked.  
Finn rolled his eyes. "Uh, I'm me. I'm terrible at keeping secrets."  
"Oh. Yeah." Ben's eyes widened and he took several steps forward. "Don't. Say. A. Thing."  
Finn nodded. "Alright."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!  
Does anyone else have friends like this in real life? Where they're constantly complaining about girl/guy problems. Or if they ask you for relationship help but you're the single person in the group so you're like, "why are you asking me?".  
Yeah, I'm always the single one XD**

 **Anyway, thanks for all the support :)  
(:;) (:;) (:;)**


	29. Chapter 28 - And The Problems Continue

**CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT  
** "Everyone's being weird." Dana complained, waving her hands. "Ben's avoided me all day. Did I do something?"  
"No. Why? Why are you asking me? I don't know anything."  
Dana sighed. "I don't know what to do."  
"Me neither. I mean- I don't have any part in this. I don't even know why we're talking. Don't you hate me?"

Dana looked Finn up and down. "Oh, yeah. I think I do."  
Finn nodded and pressed his lips together. "Yeah... can I go now?"  
"Sure." Dana flicked a strand of hair out of her eyes.

* * *

Ivy could hardly concentrate in music. She kept reflecting on the day in the park - the creepy dude near the trees - and all of the drama with her friends. Usually, she wouldn't be too bothered with the drama. She wasn't a very social person. But for some reason it had grasped her attention and refused to let go.  
And after such a long time of being fine with Dana and her antics, it had taken a dramatic turn. It had got under Ivy's skin; an itch that she couldn't reach.

"Ivy!" The teacher squawked.  
She jumped and bashed at the drum she had been given, thinking that it was what needed doing. Everyone stared at her in shock and Ivy winced.  
Perhaps that wasn't the best idea.  
"Sorry." Ivy forced a weak smile.

* * *

"Yeah, and he was just _there._ " Dana shivered.  
Ivy, who had been a few steps behind, suddenly perked up and clattered forward. "You saw him too?"  
"Uh huh." Dana sighed. "Always there. Wish he wasn't."  
"I know, it's so creepy." Ivy shook her head. "Maybe I should call the police?"

Dana tipped her head. "Why would we do that?"  
"Well, he's a creepy dude in a park." Ivy blinked slowly. "I swear that's illegal."  
"No..." Dana turned and pointed. "He's a creepy boy in a school, that follows you around everywhere. That's legal. I think."

Ivy's mouth dropped open. "You were talking about _Finn?!_ "  
"Yeah, who did you think I was talking about?" Dana rolled her eyes.  
Finn turned slowly and looked between Ivy and Dana, before slinking away.  
"Well, this just got awkward." Ivy paused. "I'm still going to give you the silent treatment, by the way."

* * *

"How do I tell her?" Ben fretted.  
Finn rolled his eyes. "Just don't tell her. You'll pee yourself before you get anywhere."  
"Shut up." Ben groaned. "Guys, I need a plan."  
Lionel jammed a fork into his pizza. "Girls."

"Don't hurt the pizza!" Finn snapped. "Psycho."  
Lionel glowered at the red-head and groaned. "I need a how-to guide. Seriously."  
"Why?" Ben asked curiously.  
"Heather just screamed in my face." Lionel mumbled. "And I have no idea why."

Finn leaned across the table and patted the boy on the back. "You'll figure it out. Hey, maybe you could ask Tyler."  
"Why him?" Ben blurted and shrank when their eyes landed on him.  
"Well," Finn paused and waved a hand. "He's smooth, you know? He's good with women."

Ben grumbled. "No, he isn't."  
"What was that?" Finn leaned in. "I hear..."  
A beat and then the red-head stood up.  
"JEALOUSY." Finn screamed at the top of his lungs.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks so much for all of reviews :)**  
 **Have some cookies!**  
 **(:;) (:;) (:;)**


	30. Chapter 29 - Family Dinner

**CHAPTER TWENTY NINE  
** _This was a terrible idea._ Ivy repeated over and over in her head. The park stretched in front of her and the street lights flickered eerily. Saturday had arrived and it was a relief to be away from the toxic atmosphere at school. Home wasn't much better either, Ivy reflected, what with her sister.  
"I can do this." She said out loud. "I can... do this."  
Warily, Ivy retraced her steps and found herself in the place where she had seen the person. And sure enough, there he was. Ivy hadn't known what to expect. How could she? She jumped slightly and plucked up every bit of remaining courage she had to spare.

"Hey!" Ivy called. "You!"  
The person didn't move and stood in the same place.  
"Hello?" Ivy stepped forward. "Who are you?"

Suddenly, the person lurched forward and twisted her around. Ivy kicked out and pulled herself away, panting, and glared at the person. Instead of the aggressive snarl she thought the person would have, he was simply smiling and entirely relaxed. He wasn't much older than herself and had dark brown hair, alongside icy blue eyes.  
"Needs some work." The boy nodded. "Still quite good."

Ivy tipped her head, quizzical. "What? Who are you?"  
"Hayden." The boy introduced himself. "And you?"  
"Ivy." She replied and continued. "But why were you... you know. You attacked me."  
Hayden blinked. "No, I was simply testing you. Seeing how good you were at self defence."

She shook her head. "Why would you need to know that?"  
"Trust me, you'll be wanting to learn." Hayden explained. "Things are starting to go down hill and when it hits rock bottom, you want all of the self defence skills to keep yourself - and your loved ones - safe."

"And why should I trust you?" Ivy spat.  
Hayden's lip twitched. "Caution, that's good. But I don't have an answer for you... why should _you_ trust me? That's down to you, and you alone, Ivy."  
"Okay, Yoda." Ivy rolled her eyes.  
"Do you know where Warde Street is?" Hayden asked.  
Ivy nodded. "Yes. Why?"  
"If you change your mind and decide to let me teach you, I'll be there. At the old warehouse." Hayden smiled. "Meet me there whenever you're ready. See you then."

* * *

"He is not smooth." Ben paused. "Or good with women."  
Finn poked his shoulder, with a wide grin. "Of course you'd say that, Mr. Jealous."  
The other boy glared at him. "Shut up, ginger."  
"No, you shut up, Lover Boy." Finn poked him multiple times until Ben whacked his hands away. "Ever heard of unrequited love?"

Ben narrowed his eyes. "Yes and I hate you."  
"I get that a lot." Finn beamed. "Lionel, wake up. You can't sleep on the job."  
"Job?" He shook himself awake. "What job?"  
Finn rolled his eyes. "Tyler-watching? Remember? Or Dana-watching."  
"Yeah, that." Lionel sighed. "Mom just texted me. I've got to go soon."

"Awwww, why?" Finn flashed the puppy-dog eyes.  
"Ben, your Mom is going out. She's dropping Blossom and Briar at my house." Lionel directed it to Ben.  
His eyes grew wide. "What? Mom didn't even tell me! Do I have to go?"  
"No clue." Lionel shrugged. "One would imagine that your Mom would want you to come to my house. Up to you I guess."

Finn tipped his head. "Yeah, do you want to be an awkward guest with the Carters or do you want to be a miserable sod who is contemplating his lack of skills in the woman department and the fact that Tyler will most likely steal the one and only girl you have ever had a crush on?"  
"Damn, you make that depressing." Lionel stood up.  
Ben stared at Finn, mouth open. "Thanks _so_ much for the support, Finn!"  
"Your welcome." Finn flashed a goofy grin.

"I guess I'm coming with you, then." Ben stood, preparing to follow Lionel. "Just to get away from Finn."  
Finn stuck out his tongue. "Manners, Stellar."  
"Oh, screw you." Ben rolled his eyes. "Come on, Lionel. Let's have a great time with the family."

* * *

"It isn't that bad." Aunt Leah cracked the eggs. "It's just a little get-together. Nothing big or fancy."  
Jace groaned and tapped the counter. "You know what the Stellars are like."  
"A hot mess?" Blossom appeared in the doorway. "Yeah, we are."  
"Hey!" Ben shouted. "That's rude!"

Their mother had headed out with Brendon to sort out matters and so she had decided to leave her children with the Carters. Jace knew that he should be kind and whatnot, but he still wasn't going to be one hundred percent. Not after the After-Party incident and everything else.  
"Hi, Jace." Briar's voice reached his ears. "Nice house you've got."  
"I assume you mean what it looks like-" Jace drawled. "In which case, I cannot say that I agree."  
Briar went quiet. "Oh, yes. Sorry."  
"I mean, for all I know, I could be living in a pig-sty." Jace pointed out.

"For all I know, I might never walk again!" Briar made a futile attempt to be funny. No one laughed.  
"Well, that got depressing." Jace hummed. "Shall we maybe go and sit at the table?"

They found places at the table and Aunt Leah served dinner. Lionel yawned and Ben poked at the meal. Leah stared around at everyone's solemn faces and pressed her lips together. "What is wrong with everyone? I thought my cooking was pretty good."  
"Sorry." Lionel paused. "Long day, I guess."  
"You played video games all morning, lazed around on the sofa and then went out with your friends for half an hour." Leah scolded. "No reason for you to be tired."

Jace groaned. "You sound like Mom."  
"My mom never tells me off that thing." Ben spoke up. "Because she _constantly_ tells us off, regardless of what we're doing, or not doing."  
"Ditto." Blossom scratched her neck. "I accidentally spilled my orange juice and Mom screamed at the top of her lungs."

Lionel looked up. "That doesn't sound too good."  
"No, it isn't." Blossom shrugged. "I think it's because of the thing with Briar."  
"You can say it, you know." Briar perked up. "You can say that I'm handicapped. Disabled. Unable to walk. Paralysed. Whatever."  
Blossom looked towards her. "I don't want to use those words because you might walk again-"  
"No, I won't." Briar pointed out. "You're just like my Mom. You're avoiding the fact and making up your own little thing so you can keep denying it."

Aunt Leah stood up. "Right, well, it looks like you've all finished. How about we go and watch some TV?"  
Jace jumped up. "Yes please!"

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Now, I'm going to be releasing chapters every Wednesday and Saturday over the next few weeks (I'm writing a bunch of chapters and queuing them up) so be prepared on those days! If you liked this chapter, please leave a review and maybe follow it?  
Cookies for everyone! (:;) (:;) (:;)  
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 **(Sorry for not posting on Wednesday! My WiFi went down and so we had to get some people out to fix it. It's working now though).**


	31. Chapter 30 - Voices

**CHAPTER THIRTY  
** Monday arrived and the students got through their first few lessons with barely any problems. That was, until it came to sports. The girls were getting changed and the room was filled with chattering students.  
"Hazel, it's Finn." Blossom rolled her eyes. "Get over it already."  
"Oh, shush." Hazel snapped. "You hardly know anything about love or boys."

"Hey, hey!" Ivy spoke up. "Put away those cat claws, Hazel."  
The girl glared daggers. "You're only protecting your friend."  
"Call it off." Cinder put in. "There's no point in fighting over it."

The girls went quiet and went back to changing. Dana was briefly curious in the drama but realized that it was the same thing she had already heard. Hazel complaining over Finn's lack of interest in her - old news now, and for some reason Hazel loved digging up the past and forcing everyone to put up with her whining. Blossom was right, and so was her sister. This was Finn they were talking about.

"You and all of your friends constantly blame me!" Brent shouted. "Not everything is my fault!"  
 _Thin walls, huh._ Dana tilted her head. _Drama! Not a quiet moment at this school...  
_ "Get away from my brother." Lionel's voice reached her ears. "We all know that you did it on purpose."  
"You don't know anything." Brent snapped.

"I think the correct term-" Jace drawled. "Is that _you_ don't know anything."  
"Shut the heck up, blind kid." Brent growled.  
"Stop making fun of my brother." The lockers made a loud crash as Brent was pushed into them.

Dana looked around at her classmates. None of them had seemed to notice.  
"Hey, Cinder." Dana waved her friend over. "I think the boys are fighting... can you hear them?"  
Cinder strained herself but shook her head. "No. I think you're hearing things, Dana. They're probably fine."

Cinder wandered away and Dana was left in a state of utter confusion. The events that were happening on the other side of this wall were clear as day. She focused back on what was happening and clasped a hand to her mouth. Someone was punched, and again, and then several others got into a fight. She couldn't hear the individual words as it was all one big blur.  
The teacher arrived and shook her out of the daze. "To the field, girls!"

* * *

"Wow, you look _exhausted._ " Hazel commented, looking Dana up and down. "Did you get _any_ sleep last night?"  
Dana nodded. "A complete beauty sleep. My mind's just elsewhere."  
The teacher set up an area suitable for Rounders and the girls got into groups. Dana was in the batting team. The first to go was Hazel, who got half a rounder. Then it was Heather, who got a full rounder, and Poppy who got eliminated.

The boys were climbing the hill, towards the other field, where they would be playing Football. Dana spotted Ben, Tyler and several other familiar faces but it was obvious who was missing. Jace, Lionel, Finn and Brent. Some may wonder why Jace got changed with the boys and attended sports - Leah often needed a break away from it all, and Jace found some interest in listening to the boys get knocked over. Some sort of weird entertainment.

"So, how are things?" Blossom asked.  
Ivy replied. "Meh. Not too good."  
"Sister problems?" Blossom nodded in Dana's direction.

Dana looked sharply in their direction and at the people around her. No one was listening to what they were saying. Probably because they were fielding and were too far away for everyone else to listen in on their conversation. Dana narrowed her eyes and took up her position in the batting box.  
"Yeah," Ivy shrugged. "She constantly has boy problems and she's so oblivious to all of it."

Dana tilted her head and the ball came shooting towards her - she whacked it in the direction of her sister and did not move a muscle.  
"Go!" The teacher shouted. "What are you waiting for?"  
Dana didn't move. Hazel and Heather cried out in exasperation. "What are you doing?!"

Ivy managed to get the ball and threw it back to the bowler, who shouted a thank-you. The girl came to a halt when she found Dana's dark glare on her. Ivy strode forward and stopped in front of Dana.  
"What was that?" Ivy flashed a grin. "One heck of an arm you've got."  
"I might have an arm but I apparently don't have a brain." Dana snapped.

"Right..." The teacher waved her hands. "Switch!"

* * *

The news soon travelled around the school as Ben and Tyler gave out the gossip. Lionel and Finn got in a fist-fight with Brent. Jace was a victim of Brent's sudden attack. All four of them were in Mr Heavern's office, much to the headmaster's dismay.  
"I told you." Dana lifted her chin, directing her gaze to Cinder.  
Cinder shrugged. "Lucky guess."

Hazel and Ivy were both stressing about Finn, but both had opposite opinions. Hazel was ranting about Finn's ridiculous behaviour and Ivy was panicking that he may be suspended (and what she would do if that did happen - the most likely option was to cry a lot).  
"He'll be fine." Blossom reassured her. "Brent was the one who started it."  
"But this is the second time that Finn had been involved with him!" Ivy groaned. "I seriously need to talk to him."

All of Lionel, Finn and Jace's friends were positioned outside of the headmaster's office, uneasily awaiting their exit. The door opened and Jace slinked out, getting out as fast as a blind person could. Then came Lionel, who was quickly followed by Heather. There was a small cut on his forehead, nothing drastic. And then there was Finn, who was dusted up badly. He had a huge black eye and multiple cuts on his face.  
"Hey." Ivy smiled.  
"We need to talk." Finn scratched his neck.  
Ivy rolled her eyes. "No kidding, let's get out-"

Brent and two thick-built exited the office. The black-haired boy kept his head low and stared straight at Ivy and Finn, as he guided away. The group exchanged glances and Finn looked at his feet. Ivy swallowed and looked to Finn for an explanation. She did not get one.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you did, please leave a review!  
Have a wonderful day.**


	32. Chapter 31 - Pretty Little Bubble

**CHAPTER THIRTY ONE  
** Brent was excluded for a week, as they found out. The group didn't talk about it but occasionally spoke about it in private, keeping their opinions hushed. Finn was exceptionally quiet about the whole thing and Ivy didn't press it, no matter how much she wanted to know what happened. Besides, she had her own problems. Dana was upset with her for some reason and was giving her the silent treatment. If she asked for ketchup at dinner, Dana would stick her nose in the air and Ivy would have to get it herself.

"Hey." Blossom poked her shoulder. "Awake in there?"  
"Yeah." Ivy shrugged and pushed her fringe out of her face. "Just thinking."  
Blossom gasped. "Oh no! I should get away, I heard that's contagious."

Ivy laughed and rolled her eyes. At least she still had one person she could rely on. Everyone was too busy worrying about boys or girls, and the whole romance thing. Or everyone was too busy being angry with each other to have fun for once.  
 _Now you're sounding like Finn._ Ivy thought to herself.  
Only, Finn had changed after Brent got excluded. He was a lot more reserved and the pranks had decreased. Which was not a good thing, because now every teacher was nervous about when the really big prank would hit them.

"How are things with Briar?" Ivy asked suddenly.  
Blossom blinked and shrugged. "Nothing's changed, if that's what you're asking. Same old, same old."  
"Do you ever have good days?" She pressed.  
"Sometimes." Blossom narrowed her eyes. "Why the questions?"

Ivy sighed. "The whole thing with Dana. I just don't want it to be like this forever, you know?"  
"I'm sure it'll sort itself out." Blossom patted her shoulder. "Just got to get through it."  
"Thanks, wise one." Ivy joked.

* * *

Basketball on Tuesday was very strange. Finn's eye still bore remnants of the fight with Brent - still a light purple colour. No one mentioned the fight in a straight-forward way, but asked subtly. _How's the eye? So, Brent's out? Still up for playing?_

The game started and Lionel shone like the brightest star on a winter's night. He knocked aside the opposing team like they nothing. That was Lionel Carter; sporting champion, adorable as everything and good looking. No girl could deny those three facts. Even the boys had to realize it, no matter how jealous they were. But another top contender was Tyler Clavern, who had very much the same aspects. He was talented at Basketball and everyone knew it. The game was fierce and even though it was between two teams, it was more like it was between Lionel and Tyler.

"Steroids." Ben spat. "No one can be that good."  
"Except Lionel?" Finn pointed out. "With your logic, that must mean that Lionel is on steroids too."  
Ben rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."  
" _Jealousy._ " Finn hissed.

The game carried on and eventually Lionel won for his team, which meant celebration throughout the entirety of the day. The team were offered free meals and you could hear cheering halfway across the school.

* * *

"I wish those boys would be quiet for five seconds." Hazel groaned as she tapped her pen. "I need to do my homework."  
Heather shook her head. "Should've done it last night."  
"Whatever." Hazel rolled her eyes. "It's easy. I'll have no problem doing it. Can you get out your calculator?"  
"If it's easy, why do you need my calculator?" Heather shot back.  
Hazel stared at her. "So that I can get it done quicker?"

Dana glided across the dining hall and threw herself down beside Heather, watching Hazel curiously. "Hey, girls."  
"Hey." Hazel waved to Heather. "Square root of 432, go!"  
"20.78." Heather turned to Dana. "Hey. How are you?"  
Dana shrugged. "Good. Hazel, you do realize we have math in five minutes, right?"

Hazel nodded and gestured to the paper in front of her. "Yeah, that's why I'm doing it now."  
"There's no way you'll get it done in that amount of time." Dana shook her head.  
"I've only got two more questions." Hazel said.  
Dana raised an eyebrow. "And the back of that page as well, don't forget."

Hazel's mouth dropped open and she whipped the page over to reveal twenty more questions. "What? Crap!"  
Heather started laughing. "Serves you right for doing it last minute."  
"Ass." Hazel spat at Heather. "You could've told me!"  
"I didn't want to burst your pretty little bubble." Heather mused.  
Hazel groaned and mumbled. "I hate you."

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed chapter thirty one! If you did, please leave a review.  
Cookies for everyone! (:;) (:;) (:;) **


	33. Chapter 32 - Sisterly Syrup Problems

**CHAPTER THIRTY TWO  
** "Could you pass me the syrup?" Ivy asked politely, staring directly at Dana.  
The girl glanced to the syrup and back to her sister. She sniffed and refused. Ivy blinked rapidly and pressed her lips together. This had been happening throughout the week since the day that Brent was excluded. Their relationship had crashed and burned, and Dana hated her for some reason.  
"Please?" Ivy gestured to the syrup.

Dana rolled her eyes. "Get it yourself."  
"Hey!" Ivy threw up her hands. "I always gave you the syrup. It's polite to do the same for me."  
"What?" Dana snapped. "Like it's polite to talk behind other people's backs?"  
Ivy tipped her head. "What in the world are you talking about?"

Dana abandoned her pancakes and stood up. "You know very well what I'm talking about, _Ivy_!"  
"No, I don't!" Ivy shouted. "You're nutters!"  
Dana glowered. "I'm nutters? I heard you talking about me. That I don't understand this or that."  
Ivy went quiet. _How did she hear that? What am I meant to say?  
_ "I thought so." Dana turned on her heels and stormed away from the kitchen.

* * *

Ivy and Finn walked shoulder-to-shoulder as they headed towards the bus on a Friday afternoon. The school day had been like any other. The classes were boring, the teachers annoying and the drama plentiful. The promise of the weekend was enough to keep them happy.  
"Friday, thank the stars!" Finn threw open an arm. "Just got to get through the bus ride home."  
Ivy sighed. "Easier said than done, eh?"

"So, you and Dana?" Finn tilted his head. "I saw you two glaring daggers at each other from across the hallway."  
Ivy groaned. "Yeah. We're not on good terms any more."  
"Figures." Finn went quiet. "What is it about this time?"  
"She heard me saying something about her problem with Ben and Tyler." Ivy scratched her head. "It's true, though."

Finn nodded as they clambered into the bus. "It is true. Have you tried talking it out?"  
"Finn, did you not hear me?" Ivy waved a hand. "She doesn't even pass the syrup."  
"Fair enough." Finn shrugged.

* * *

Everyone took their places on the bus and it rumbled into life. Unlike most days, Dana had placed herself between Hazel and Heather, far away from Ben and Tyler. Lionel was beaming from his place near Cinder, and Finn poked his shoulder.  
"Our little champion." Finn placed a hand on his heart. "So proud of my little boy."  
Lionel laughed. "You sound like my mother."

After that, everyone went silent. Ben shifted in his seat, uncomfortable.  
"So, how was everyone's day?" He asked loudly, causing Cinder to jump.  
No one answered and then Tyler sat up straight. "My day was good. How about you?"  
Ben's face fell and Finn sniggered. "Uh, my day was, uh, good, too."

Tyler launched into a conversation with him. "You did quite well in Basketball the other day, though I couldn't help noticing that your footwork was a bit off, but you stayed alert and present in the game, which meant that you could catch the ball. Just a little bit more practise and maybe you'll be as good as Lionel here."  
"Yes." Ben cleared his throat. "I, uh, yeah... I really need to work on my footwork."  
He flashed a fake smile, laughing nervously, whilst Finn smirked from his place beside Ivy. The rest of the group shared confused glances.

Thankfully, Cinder picked up the conversation. "So, I was thinking about going shopping this weekend-"  
"That sounds like a great idea." Lionel interrupted. "We could go to that new diner they just opened-"  
"Sorry." Cinder picked at her fingernails. "I was hoping it could be a girl's trip, you know?"  
Lionel's smile faded a little. "Oh. Okay. I hope you girls have fun."

Dana decided to speak up. "I'd love to come."  
Hazel and Heather agreed along with her and then Ivy chipped in. "I'd like to come as well, if that's alright."  
"Of course." Cinder nodded. "Girl's weekend, right?"  
Dana narrowed her eyes at Ivy. "You don't like shopping though."  
"Doesn't change the fact that I'm a team player." Ivy tried to surpass a convincing smile. "And Cinder _did_ say that it was a girl's weekend and I'm a girl."

Finn saved the conversation this time. "Hey, Dana, I heard that there was going to be a Winter Ball?"  
"Yes, actually." Dana forgot her quarrel with Ivy as she launched into a description of the event. "It's happening just before we break up for Christmas. The theme is chilly chic. We're going to have a snowflake sprinkler, decorations from the ceiling... it's going to be beautiful."

Ben imagined the event and perked up. "That really does sound amazing, Dana. Have they made you head of the organizational team?"  
"Yes!" Dana beamed. "How did you know that?"  
"I notice things." Ben winked. "And you're perfect for the job. Event organization seems to be your thing."  
Dana smiled sweetly. "Thank you. I do love planning events..."

* * *

 **Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please leave a review!  
I can't believe we're on Chapter 32 already. I'm thinking of finishing this story at around 50 chapters (there will be sequels, don't worry!). If that's the case, then we'll be finished at around August/September time.  
Time flies by, doesn't it? Here's some cookies for my amazing readers!**

 **(:;) (:;) (:;)**


	34. Chapter 33 - Shopping N' Sports

**CHAPTER THIRTY THREE**

December had almost arrived and the last few weeks of November were welcome to plentiful drama. Ivy had given up on Dana. They reverted back to their old way of living, whereby they both avoided each other and occasionally had an argument. It was not fun and Ivy did not like it, but she had no way of apologizing to Dana. Her sister just wasn't having any of it. The weekend arrived and Ivy suddenly started to regret her decision to go to the girl's shopping trip.

"I'm so stupid." Ivy mumbled as she glowered at her wardrobe.  
As much as she hated to say it, Dana was right. She did hate shopping. Clothes just weren't her thing.

Whitney had offered to drop them off and the car ride was all sorts of awkward. Their mother chattered happily about various topics (mainly along the lines of how proud she was of them and how excited she was for Dana's Winter Ball). Both girls stayed silent as their mother carried on.  
They reached the shopping centre and clambered out. Dana marched ahead and Ivy trailed behind.

She had tried to invite Blossom, but apparently she had some family business so Ivy decided not to press it. The other girls weren't her close friends but she could handle them. _It would be more fun with the boys around, though_ , Ivy thought.  
"Hi, Dana. Hi, Ivy." Cinder grinned. "Excited?"  
Dana clapped her hands together, forgetting her problems with Ivy. "Yes! Let's do some shopping."

* * *

"You and Lionel don't seem to be getting on well." Ivy mused as she picked up random pieces of clothes and made a face.  
Cinder shrugged. "Eh. Just a small argument. Nothing big."  
"Really?" Ivy crossed her arms. "I've heard that before."

The other girl went quiet and held up a violet top. She stared in the mirror and Ivy hovered behind her.  
"He's just such a jerk sometimes." Cinder mumbled.  
Ivy tipped her head. "Oh. I thought Lionel was less of jerk than some of the other guys."  
"Well, yeah." Cinder sighed. "But he does not know how to handle women to save his life."  
"Did something happen?" Ivy prompted. "Come on, tell me!"

Cinder groaned. "It's nothing happy. He just... I think he likes Heather."  
"Well, they _did_ go to disco together." Ivy pointed out.  
"I know." Cinder rolled her eyes. "But I - you know - like him too. I just don't think he likes me back in that way."  
Ivy shrugged. "You never know. He might."  
Cinder shook her head. "No. He said we were just friends."

* * *

Dana, Isla, Hazel and Heather had stayed together and gone to a shop that provided a variety of items. It had been Dana's decision, since she needed to go shopping for decorations that were to be used at the Winter Ball. She glided down aisles, in search of the items she needed, with the others behind her.  
"What sort of things do you need?" Isla called.  
Dana glanced over her shoulder. "Winter themed items."

Hazel and Heather had wandered to the candle aisles and found themselves sniffing the scented candles.  
"Hm, this one is nice." Hazel held out a candle. It was named; _Burning Fire.  
_ Heather nodded and gave the candle back. She picked up another and sniffed it. Unlike her friend's reaction, Heather gasped for breath and dropped the candle back onto the shelf, desperately trying to get rid of the smell.  
"Which one did you just have?" Hazel asked.  
Heather grumbled. "Christmas Pudding. Don't smell it."

Dana and Isla arrived with a bag full of winter-themed items and decorations. Both looked pleased with themselves as they exited the shop and headed to the clothes shop, where they would find Cinder and Ivy.  
"So, you and Ivy?" Heather inquired.  
Dana narrowed her eyes. "What about us?"  
"You don't seem happy with each other..." She trailed off.

The other girl adjusted her grip on the bag. "Well, I have a right not to be happy with her. She was talking behind my back."  
"Really?" Heather mused. "What about?"  
Dana scoffed. "That I'm naïve and have no idea about which boys like me."  
Heather pressed her lips together. "I would have thought that Ivy knew not to talk behind other's backs."  
"Yeah, me too." Dana said.

* * *

The boys had been turned away from spending time with the girls, so they opted to do their own thing. Ben had wanted to play a video game tournament, Finn had wanted a paintball tournament (no wonder no one wanted to play it) and Tyler wanted to play sports. It was not tricky to figure out what they chose.  
The fields were not occupied and so the boys messed about playing a variety of sports. Jace accompanied them and sat on a bench, laughing every time he heard a squawk from Ben when a ball came in his direction.

They firstly played rounders - it ended with Ben being hit in the face by a bat, lots of skidding on the grass and an incredibly annoyed Lionel. After that, they played basketball (whereby Tyler showed off and Ben complained about being short). Then it was soccer, in which Ben ended up kicking the ball into Tyler's face. Finally, it was rugby. It ended with everyone in a mess on the floor but they didn't realize that Finn had successfully sprinted away with the ball.

The boys decided to have a break and threw themselves down near Jace, who had spent the entire time laughing at them and wishing he could see it as well.  
"That was fun." Tyler grinned after he took a gulp of water. "Ben, you should get a drink. You're a bright red!"  
Ben opened his mouth and then waved a hand. "I'm fine."  
Lionel scratched his neck. "I'm glad we did that. Girls can be so stressful sometimes."

The rest nodded in agreement - except Finn. The redhead was still hyper, almost jogging on the spot.  
"Eh, girls are fine." He waved a hand rapidly. "Can we do something else? How about a sprint race?"  
The other boys widened their eyes at him. Ben shook his head. "No, we are NOT doing that, Finn."

Ben and Finn launched into an argument about the possibility of them doing a sprint race. Meanwhile, the remaining boys conversed whilst they hydrated themselves.  
"Girl problems, brother?" Jace poked Lionel. "Tell me all about it."  
Lionel groaned. "Heather and Cinder. They're just so confusing and I have no idea how to feel, you know?"  
"Nah, I don't really know." Jace sighed. "Being blind is a bit of a turn-off."

Lionel patted his brother on the back. "You'll find yourself a girl."  
"I just hope it isn't a car crash like your relationship with women." Jace joked.  
"Shut up." Lionel rolled his eyes. "I'm trying to sort it out. I like both of them... I thought it was just as friends. But now I'm not sure."

"You'll figure it out." Jace smiled weakly. "Just follow that big heart of yours."  
Lionel scratched his head. "Better said than done. Look at Finn!"  
"What about Finn?" Jace deadpanned. "I can't look at him, remember?"

"No, I meant that Finn has it easy." Lionel explained. "He doesn't seem to care too much about girls and dating and all. He has a great friendship with Ivy and he's always happy. He's already got a job as the school's personal clown. Finn has it all planned out - who would have guessed?"  
Jace chuckled. "I don't think he meant for it to go so well."  
"Well, it did." Lionel shrugged. "Somehow."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! I never thought it would get this far!  
If you enjoyed this chapter, please review and follow.  
PSA: I want to interrupt to say how much I appreciate my readers. It may not seem like it, but sharing my own work is quite a personal thing and doing that scares me to death, but all of the positive feedback is awesome. Keep it up!  
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	35. Chapter 34 - Brent Is Back

**CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR**

Monday had arrived and that meant that Brent would be returning to school. The bus ride to school was interesting, to say the least. Ivy's stomach had twisted into a ball of worry. She knew that Finn had been heavily involved in what had happened, and if things came to it, Brent might go after Finn. The rest of her friends shared the same fears and glanced cautiously at Lionel and Finn. Both boys were unusually silent.  
"Finn?" Ivy nudged his side. "You alright?"  
Her friend nodded and flashed a grin. "I'm great. How about you?"

"Good." Ivy chewed her lip, unsure whether to believe him.  
Cinder spoke up. "What do you think will happen?"  
Lionel shrugged. "No idea. But if he does something, I won't let him get away with it."

Ben laughed nervously. "That's comforting."  
The rest of the bus journey was spent in silence until they reached the school. Ivy and Finn walked shoulder-to-shoulder. Dana had disappeared with Ben. A pang of guilt hit Ivy but she pushed it away. It was Dana's fault for eavesdropping.

"What do you have first?" Finn asked.  
Ivy sighed. "Science."  
"Wait, doesn't Brent have that class with you?" He narrowed his eyes. "Are you going to be okay?"  
"I can handle myself." Ivy rolled her eyes. "I should be asking you the same question."

Finn smiled. "Yeah, yeah. Tell someone if something happens."  
"I will." Ivy waved a goodbye. "Don't do anything stupid!"

* * *

The boys had started to get changed for sports and there was an air of awkwardness. Thankfully, Brent did not have the lesson with them. Ben hovered in the corner, trying to stay away from those that might trample him - namely Lionel and Tyler. He spotted Finn and weaved his way through the boys until he reached the redhead.  
"Hey." He tugged at his shirt. "Have you seen Brent yet?"  
"Nope." Finn scratched his neck. "Thankfully. Have you?"  
Ben nodded. "Yeah, I have. He did not look happy."

Finn crossed his arms. "What sort of not-happy? Angry?"  
"More like furious." Ben pushed a hand through his hair. "I would not want to have the same class as him."  
"No..." Finn started moving away. "Tell the teacher that I'll be back soon!"

Tyler caught sight of Finn getting away and raised his voice. "Oi! Finn! Where are you going?"  
The redhead kept moving. Ben glowered at Tyler and shouted back, "Shut up, Tyler!"

* * *

Ivy had found herself increasingly nervous as she scrambled to her Science class. When she arrived, Brent had not gotten to class yet. She hoped that he would not come back to her class and started the lesson with high hopes. But her wish was not met, when Brent wandered in with Mr Heavern behind him. The principal spoke to Mr Terrell and then gestured for the dark-haired boy to go to his seat.  
Brent took his place beside Ivy and avoided her stare. Mr Heavern left and Mr Terrell took to the front of the class.

"Right, let's all say a 'welcome back' to Brent!" The teacher pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Today, we're going to do an experiment-"  
The man met the eyes of Ivy and Brent, and then wringed his hands. He cleared his throat.  
"Uh, actually." He scratched his head. "That might not be a good idea. How about a quiz?"

The class shouted in protest and Mr Terrell pressed his lips together. "Okay. We'll do an experiment..."  
Everyone got the experiment set up. Ivy had just finished pouring the chemical solution when Mr Terrell came to their table.  
"Please, please don't set my lab on fire again." He grinned. "I get that you are enthusiastic but I'd appreciate it if you didn't."  
Ivy nodded. "I'll try not to. But you never know. I might be unable to contain my excitement about, uh, chemistry."

Mr Terrell clapped his hands together. "That's the spirit, Ivy. Chemistry is obviously the best Science subcategory-"  
After that, Ivy zoned out. Eventually, the enthusiastic teacher left them to their experiment and she was finally able to focus on Brent and the lesson ahead.  
"Pass me that test tube." Brent gestured for the tube.  
Ivy stretched out her hand and passed it to him. "So, what was that fight all about?"  
"Nothing." Brent gritted his teeth. "Can you get the Bunsen Burner set up for me?"

Ivy shrugged and began to set the equipment up, when a clatter of footsteps came from the hallway. Mr Terrell furrowed his eyebrows and a second later, the familiar redhead flew into the room. He came to a sliding halt and searched the class until he found Ivy, who glowered at her friend.  
"What is wrong with you?" Ivy spat. "Why are you here?"  
Finn flashed a goofy grin and leaned awkwardly on the table. "I, uh, needed to ask you about where we were meeting, so that we could, uh, walk home."  
"What?" Ivy blinked. "We're not-"

Finn jabbed a finger in her direction. " _Yes_ , we are. Remember?"  
"Um." Ivy leaned forward. "Tell me why you're here, now. Don't you dare lie to me, Finn."  
The boy scratched the back of his neck and hissed back, "I heard that Brent was here."  
"So?" Ivy snapped.

The boy cleared his throat. "Has he done anything sketchy? Said anything? If he has-"  
"Finn." Ivy rolled her eyes. "Honestly, you need to stop being so protective. And, no, he hasn't done anything. He's actually being nice, sort of."  
"Nice?" Finn narrowed his eyes. "It must be a clone. Brent doesn't do nice."

Mr Terrell waved at Finn. "Come on, you need to go now. Otherwise, I'll have to call the principle and he doesn't want to see you again."  
"Aw, but I was just starting to enjoy our little meetings." Finn grinned. "Right, I'll see you later, Ivy. Keep an eye on him."  
"Yeah, yeah." Ivy pushed him playfully. "Go away, you little meddling kid."

* * *

 **Thanks so much for reading! If you enjoyed, please review, follow etc.  
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	36. Chapter 35 - Adopted Siblings (Sorta)

**CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE**

School was dismissed and Ivy strode towards the bus. All of a sudden, an arm was thrown around her shoulder and Finn steered her away from the bus. Ivy sighed and shrugged off his arm, glaring at him.  
"What are you doing?" She waved a hand at the bus. "We need to get home, remember?"  
"No, we're walking." Finn nodded slowly. "Yeah, remember?"

Ivy stared at him. "I thought that was just a cover-up?"  
"Nope." Finn shook his head. "We're walking. Deal with it."  
They began headed away from the bus and along the road, in the direction of their homes. As they walked, they discussed the drama happening all around them.  
"It's like it used to be." Ivy complained. "Dana hates me."

Finn sighed. "Sisters, huh? Isla is basically ignoring me because apparently you're my sister and might as well move in, and replace her."  
"Woah." Ivy blinked rapidly. "That might be why Isla hardly speaks to me. Makes sense."  
He scratched his chin. "And Ben wants to ask out- crap."  
"What?" Ivy narrowed her eyes. "Dana? Does he realise how oblivious she is?"

Finn groaned and pushed a hand through his messy hair. "Forget I said that, yeah?"  
"Okay." Ivy shrugged. "Why did you crash my science class so that you could make sure I was okay?"  
"Brent." Finn sighed. "I don't trust him. And besides, you're my adopted sister so I have to make sure no one is killing you."  
Ivy rolled her eyes. "Finn, that's unrealistic. I'll be the one doing the killing."  
"True, that." Finn grinned. "And I'll help you hide the body."

Laughing, Ivy slapped his arm. "That's what siblings are for."  
"And why we have to find replacements for our biological siblings-" Finn continued. "'Cause our real siblings would tell on us."

* * *

Lionel arrived home. His father was still at work and his mother was cleaning up. Jace was home as well, moving easily around the house, having memorized it. It always amazed Lionel how confident his blind brother was. And he was ever so proud of Jace, even if he was a typically annoying brother.  
"Hey, Lionel, superstar brother of mine." Jace also had a sarcastic tongue, as it just so happened. "Mom is-"  
And a vase fell from the table, shattering on the floor. Jace's face fell as he realised what had happened. Lionel winced.  
"Dammit." Jace swore colourfully and then crouched, searching for the shards.

 _He could hurt himself._ Lionel recognised the danger and hurried forward, dragging his brother away from the shards.  
"What was that for?" Jace snapped.  
Lionel kneeled down to pick up the pieces of shattered vase. "I don't want you hurting yourself."  
"Not this again." His brother groaned. "I'm not as fragile as that awful vase."  
"I'm not saying that," Lionel stared at his brother.

Jace crossed his arms. "Sounds like it to me. I could have picked those bits up-"  
"You were close to cutting yourself on these sharp bits." Lionel growled. "I don't need you bleeding everywhere. Unlike you, I'm not good at first aid. You'd be dead."  
"Would that be so bad?" Jace raised his voice.  
Lionel slipped in shock, and a shattered piece of vase caused a gash in his hand. "Ow!"

Jace glanced around quickly. "What was that? What happened?"  
Lionel swore and stared at his hand. But there was nothing there. The gash he had thought was there had vanished.  
"Nothing." Lionel mumbled. "Just a scratch."  
That, in itself, was a lie. It wasn't a scratch because there was nothing there.

* * *

"What happened at school today?" Millie Stellar asked, as she ate her food politely at the dinner table.  
Blossom and Ben exchanged a glance. Briar decided to speak up. "I helped a kid with a sprained wrist. He was being an idiot in basketball."  
"Sounds like Ben." Blossom scoffed, and her brother glowered at her.  
"Hey!" Ben snapped. "I'm not an idiot. I'm actually quite good at basketball."

They finished up dinner and began to take the plates back to the kitchen. Briar reversed her wheelchair and attempted to turn, but a wheel caught the table and she growled in annoyance. Millie looked up sharply and hurried towards her daughter, trying to help Briar reverse and get the wheel out from the table.  
Blossom was busy trying to clean the plates, when her hands got slippery from the soap, and the plate crashed to the floor. Ben winced and they worked together to try and pick up the pieces.

Millie narrowed her eyes. "Stop making a mess in there! Get out here and help your sister."  
"You're helping her!" Blossom shouted back. "I'm trying to clean this up."  
"Don't shout at me, you disrespectful girl!" Millie snapped. "It's okay, Briar, I'll sort this out."  
Briar sighed. "Mom, it's okay. I can do this-"  
"No, you need some help," Millie said. "The wheel is stuck and- Ben, can you please help me?"

Ben peered out from the kitchen. "Mom, I'm sort of busy."  
"You're not busy enough to make your sister second priority!" Millie growled. "Briar should be _top_ priority."  
"Mom, please-" Briar winced as the tension grew.  
Blossom pressed her lips together. "Poor little Briar, stuck in a table! Well, sorry, Mom - I'm trying to clean up the mess I made. Maybe you should do the same and clean me up, because I'm obviously a mess, a mistake!"

Gulping, Ben raised his voice. "Everybody, shut up!"  
Millie went silent and managed to get Briar out of the table. Her daughter inhaled sharply and glanced between her mother and siblings, before moving away as fast as possible. Blossom had cleaned away the mess and Ben was hurriedly trying to sort out their family.  
"Okay. Let's all just chill." Ben smiled. "All good?"  
Millie disappeared and Blossom nodded. "Yeah. I'm just going to stay in my room tonight."  
"Alright, Blossom." Ben pulled her into a friendly hug. "I'm going out. See you soon."

* * *

 **Ahhh. I feel so horrible after this chapter. So much drama. I really wanted this chapter to have a bit more sibling relationships. How did I do? Also, I'm going to keep Ivy and Finn as super-close friends (aka. "adopted" siblings) because that just suits me more. I don't know why, I love the ship but them being friends seems ten times better to me. You'll see... Also, Jace and Blossom. Just ahhhh. *sweats*  
Thanks so much for reading! If you enjoyed, please review :)  
**

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	37. Chapter 36 - The Curious Cat

**CHAPTER THIRTY SIX**

On the way back to her house, Ivy said goodbye to Finn and continued along the path. She sneaked into her home, thankful that Whitney was too busy making dinner to notice that her daughter had come home, and clambered up the stairs and to her room. School had become so hectic that her head hurt from trying to make sense of it all. At least she had a few friends who she knew would stick by her.  
"Ivy, Dana!" Whitney called. "Dinner is ready!"

The table was set and the food laid out in a cosy manner. Their father arrived home and they all gathered around the food.  
"This looks lovely, Mom." Dana smiled sweetly. "Would I be able to go out after dinner?"  
Whitney glanced to her daughter. "To do what? And who with?"  
"We're just going to the park," she explained. "I'll be with Ben Stellar. Millie's son."

Whitney blinked rapidly as she hurried to remember the names, and then nodded enthusiastically. "Ah, yes. They're a nice family."  
"Is Tyler going to be there as well?" Ivy raised an eyebrow.  
"No." Dana rolled her eyes. "I'm not confused, if that's what you're suggesting. I'm just going to talk with Ben, like friends do."  
Ivy poked at her food. "So, you don't realise that you're leading both of them on?"  
Whitney raised her head. "What are you two talking about? Dana, you're doing what?"

"Nothing." Dana snapped. "Ivy, here, is confused."  
Ivy laughed. "I'm the confused one? Have you looked in the mirror recently?"  
"Girls, stop this." Their father raised his voice above the clamour.

Ivy threw her utensils onto her plate and stood up. "Fine. I'm done anyway."  
She escaped the judgemental stares of her family and put the dinner equipment away. Her heart pounded uncomfortably and she did not want to be there anymore, with her family glaring at her. So, Ivy caught sight of the back door and managed to sneak out of it without her mother or father noticing.  
Now only one question remained; _where would she go?_

* * *

The Pevlone house was a place full of mysteries, unseen to the eyes of other people, except those who were part of the family. The 'mystery' part was Finn Pevlone, the redheaded boy who had set out to cause trouble in all variations of the word. Isla Pevlone was nowhere near as troublesome as her brother, yet still had the fiery remnants of their kinship. Their mother, Fern, had no idea how she had ended up with such children and had decided early on, to blame it on Dustin.  
Whenever Finn's mentality and pranks were called into question - and whenever Fern and Dustin fought about it - Dustin was always the one who got the majority of the responsibility for Finn's behaviour, as the two were rather similar.

Today, though, the Pevlone household and turned into one huge catastrophe. Finn had decided that pranking Isla would be a clever idea. He just had no idea what would happen afterwards, and it wasn't pretty.  
"You're an idiot!" Isla growled. "I swear I will get you back for this, you-"  
Finn waved his hands. "Chill out! It wasn't freezing water!"  
"Finn Pevlone, you know better than this!" Fern scolded.

The boy rolled his eyes. "Do I really know better? Come on, you know who I am, right?"  
"Finn!" Fern shouted. "You're sister could have been hurt! Enough is enough with these ridiculous pranks!"  
"You like them too!" Finn waved his hands wildly. "I know it!"  
Fern glowered at her son. "Not when it could hurt Isla!"

"Maybe we should all just chill out-" Dustin started.  
Fern whirled on her husband. "Chill out? Don't you care that Finn just spilled a bucket of freezing water on your daughter?"  
"What?" Finn blinked. "Have I been demoted from 'son' to 'Finn'?"  
"I do care." Dustin chose his words carefully. "But shouting isn't going to help..."

His wife stared at him for a good few minutes. "You know very well that this was your fault."  
Finn pointed at himself. "I'm a mistake? That makes sense."  
"No, no." Fern sighed. "Certain genetics from Dustin were a mistake."  
"Hey!" Dustin pressed a hand to his chest, offended. "My genetics are great, thank you very much."  
Finn waved in his father's direction. "See! I'm great!"

Dustin laughed and shook his head. "I was talking about my genes, not yours."  
"I think we can all agree that Finn is an alien." Isla spoke up.  
Finn shrugged. "I can deal with that."

* * *

Ivy wandered outside, unsure of where to go. She did not want to go home. Dana was too much to handle at the moment and Ivy knew that if she went back, they'd just end up in an argument again. Whitney had always said that it was best to walk away sometimes. So, that's what Ivy was doing.  
 _Walk away where, though?_ Ivy considered her options.  
She could go to Finn's house, but goodness knows what happens in there. Plus, she didn't want to annoy Fern by showing up and whining about her problems. And Finn had already been stuck with her at school for the entire day. He'd be bored of her by now.

Everybody else was out of the question. She knew what went down at Blossom's house and she didn't want to make matters worse. The Carter household was an odd place to turn up and she didn't know Lionel or Jace well enough for that (not to mention, she hardly knew Scarlet or Brendon). Ivy would never go to Tyler's house, no matter what. That would just be weird, especially since she ranted and raved about Dana being the confused one.

So, Ivy opted to keep wandering around. She let her feet take her wherever, not really caring. Just as long as it was away from her family problems.  
After a while, Ivy realised that she had no idea where she had ended up. She back-tracked until she found a sign. _Warde St.  
_ Warde Street. How did she know that name?

 _"Do you know where Warde Street is?" Hayden asked._  
 _Ivy nodded. "Yes. Why?"_  
 _"If you change your mind and decide to let me teach you, I'll be there. At the old warehouse." Hayden smiled. "Meet me there whenever you're ready. See you then."_

Of course, the guy from the park! Hayden, she recalled.  
Here it was, Warde Street. Ivy knew that the Stellar family lived here and figured that if anything went wrong, she could go straight there. Going to the warehouse was risky but so was wandering around in the middle of the night. And, above all else, she the knew what Hayden looked like, so that she had a face for the police to find. _Curiosity killed the cat._ Ivy thought. _But you would never know that if you didn't investigate in the first place._

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed! If you did, please review!  
I've had a few people asking about Half Moon so; I will be including her soon. She will arrive around chapter forty, so only a few more chapters to wait. She'll have a larger roll in a... sequel? Maybe? ;)**

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	38. Chapter 37 - Sister AWOL

**CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN**

Finn awoke that morning and clambered onto the bus, his stomach growling even though he had had breakfast, and all he wanted to do was curl up and sleep again. But his exhaustion disappeared the moment he realised that three people were missing; Blossom, Ben and Ivy. His first thought was that they had abandoned him and decided to do something but it was obvious that it wasn't that simple.  
"Where is my sister?" Dana demanded the second that Finn took his seat.

"I don't know!" Finn shrugged. "Last time I saw her, she just dropped me off outside my house. Didn't she get back home?"  
"She got home," Dana explained. "But she disappeared after we had an argument. And she didn't come home this morning."  
 _Oh no._ Finn mused. _There's a loose Ivy in the world! We should get a bunker and stock up on supplies-  
_ Dana was glowering at him. "If you're holding my sister hostage-"  
"Why would I do that?" Finn blinked.  
The blonde-haired girl narrowed her eyes. "Exactly."

Finn got off the bus and walked beside Hazel, wondering where in the world Ivy had gotten to.  
"So, Ivy's missing?" Finn attempted a conversation with Hazel, briefly aware that she hated him. "Any ideas?"  
Hazel looked him up and down, pressing her lips together. "Well, I don't blame her from running away and not going to you for help."  
"Hey!" Finn ran a hand through his red hair. "Why are you so upset with me?"  
"The fact that you took this long to ask just about says it all." Hazel snapped and hurried away.

 _That's great._ Finn rolled his eyes. _Maybe I should ask Tyler for advice- wait, no. Ben would disown me.  
_ Cinder appeared at his side and poked his shoulder. "I heard that Ivy is A.W.O.L. Ben and Blossom are as well. They'll turn up eventually."  
"Yeah, I hope so." Finn flashed a grin. "It'd be a catastrophe if they're left alone for too long."  
"Aren't you supposed to have Geography with them?" Cinder asked.  
Finn's face fell. "Oh, yeah. They've gone and abandoned me! The traitors."

Cinder laughed and patted him on the back. "Well, good luck and let me know if they arrive."  
"Will do." Finn waved a goodbye and proceeded to head to Geography.

* * *

Geography was typically boring and today further proved that. Finn was seconds away from falling asleep and without his friends, he would have no one to wake him up before the teacher caught him sleeping. He grumbled to himself throughout the beginning of the lesson and resorted to drawing all over his hands and arms, to keep himself busy so that he didn't end up sleeping.  
 _This would be ten times better if Ben, Blossom and Ivy were here._ He reflected.

A few minutes later and the door flew open. The familiar faces of his friends hovered in the doorway as Ben hurriedly explained why they were late.  
Ivy scrambled for the seat next to Finn and threw herself down. She certainly looked washed-up.  
Finn inspected his friend critically. She had eye-bags which showed a lack of sleep, hair that was brushed once and perhaps not even that, and she still wore last night's clothes. So, Ivy definitely did sleep elsewhere last night. With the Stellars, most likely.

"Where were you?" Finn hissed.  
"With Ben and Blossom." Ivy explained. "I'm fine. Just tired... you don't look much better."  
Finn shrugged. "Eventful night with the family and it's school. I think everyone is close to collapsing because of exhaustion."

Ivy laughed and glanced at the teacher, before looking back to Finn. "Did anyone notice we were missing?"  
"Everyone," Finn told her. "Including your sister."  
"Dana?" Ivy blinked. "Are you sure it was her?"  
Finn nodded. "Uh, yeah, positive."

* * *

Aunt Leah had made an obvious effort to try and get Jace to 'bond' with Briar. She had ran away multiple times and left them to their own devices. The conversations usually ended up on the topic of the students being idiots and or their own family problems.  
"My dad is always working," Jace fiddled with the bandages that he was meant to be wrapping and handing to Briar to store away.  
Briar hummed. "Mine too. My Mom is too protective. I'm sure you've heard all about her."

"A bit." Jace shrugged. "Not much. I spend limited time with Ben and Blossom."  
"Oh, speaking of which - did you hear about Ivy?" Briar inquired. "She apparently ran away and she turned up on our doorstep."  
Jace tipped his head. "Really? Where did she come from? She can't have been wandering around all night."  
Briar threw a bandage up in the air and caught it. "No idea."

Aunt Leah arrived back and started to shift through the cupboards, humming a melody to herself. She abruptly stopped and made an unamused noise.  
"Briar, Jace, would you two be able to go down to the library for me?" She asked.  
Jace placed a bandage down on the table. "Why?"  
"I need you to find this medical book," Leah passed the note to Briar. "And I'm a bit busy at the moment, so it would be great if you two could do this little task for me. You're lifesavers, thank you."

* * *

 ** _The Night Before_**

The warehouse was abandoned and old. The moon shone from behind the building and Ivy hugged her arms close, reflecting on the fact that she should have brought a coat. But she had gotten this far and going back seemed crazy now. Then again, this was insane as well.  
"Too late now." Ivy chewed her lip and slipped into the building.  
The floorboards creaked and she jumped at the sounds of rats crawling somewhere.  
 _It's all alright._ She told herself. _Just a normal building. Find Hayden, and you'll be fine._

The sounds of voices reached her ears and she carried on forward, until she entered a wide space, where people practised self-defence. Ivy blinked rapidly, taking in the scene. They all looked so professional, taking measured hits and kicks.  
"Ivy, right?" A familiar voice came to her right.  
She turned to find Hayden striding towards her, a friendly grin on his face.  
Ivy nodded. "Uh, yeah, that's me."  
"Good to see you again." Hayden crossed his arms. "Welcome, welcome."

"So, what do you do here?" Ivy asked.  
"Self defence." He explained. "We have a variety of people here, all with different stories and reasons why they need to learn it."  
Ivy tilted her head. "Need or want?"  
"Who says it can't be both?" Hayden winks.

He guided her to a set of mats in the room and squared up. "I'll start off easy, okay?"  
"What, afraid I'll kick your butt?" Ivy smirked.

* * *

 **Thanks so much for reading! If you enjoyed, please leave a review.  
Here are some cookies for all of you: (:;) (:;) (:;)  
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